Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1999:219
Date: 1999-04-29
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Environment;Approximation of laws
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Greece

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Approximation of laws — Batteries and accumulators containing certain dangerous 
substances— Directive 91/157— Member States required to adopt special pro­
grammes in pursuit of certain objectives — Scope of their obligation 
(Council Directive 91/157, Art. 6) 
2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Objective nature — Reason for the failure to 
fulfil obligations — Irrelevant 
(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC)) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-215/98 
1. In order to achieve the objectives of 
Directive 91/157 on batteries and accu­
mulators containing certain dangerous 
substances, Article 6 thereof requires 
the Member States to draw up pro­
grammes and then to review and 
update them regularly. That result is 
not sufficiently attained by a study or 
draft law which does no more than 
detail a number of programmes that 
may eventually be implemented, since 
Article 6 requires the effective estab­
lishment of such programmes. 
2. An action based on Article 169 of the 
Treaty (now Article 226 EC) requires 
only an objective finding of failure by a 
Member State to fulfil its obligations, 
not proof of inertia or opposition on its 
part. Consequently, where a Member 
State has failed to fulfil its obligation to 
transpose a directive into national law 
within the period prescribed, the fact 
that it is continuing to make every 
effort to discharge that obligation is no 
defence. 
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