Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2000:155
Date: 2000-03-23
Language of the case: French
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Approximation of laws
Concepts: General;Defences
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: France

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Member States — Obligations — Implementation of directives — Failure to fulfil 
obligations — justification — Not permissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC)) 
2. Acts of the institutions — Directives — Implementation by the Member States — Need 
for clear and precise transposition 
(EC Treaty, Art. 189(3) (now Art. 249(3) EC)) 
3. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Examination of the merits by the Court — 
Situation to be taken into consideration — Situation at the end of the period laid down 
in the reasoned opinion 
(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-327/98 
1. Difficulties encountered in implement­
ing the provisions of a directive cannot 
constitute a ground for a Member State 
to exonerate itself from fulfilling its 
obligations and from adopting the laws 
and regulations necessary to transpose 
the directive. 
(see paras 21, 23) 
2. A national law containing no substan­
tive provision transposing a directive, 
but merely referring to legislation that 
is subsequently to implement the pro­
visions intended to transpose it, cannot 
be regarded as effecting a complete and 
accurate transposition of that directive. 
(see para. 26) 
3. In the context of proceedings under 
Article 169 of the Treaty (now Arti­
cle 226 EC), the question whether a 
Member State has failed to fulfil its 
obligations must be determined by 
reference to the situation prevailing in 
the Member State at the end of the 
period laid down in the reasoned 
opinion and the Court cannot take 
account of any subsequent changes. 
(see para. 28) 
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