Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2007:265
Date: 2007-05-03
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Seventh Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Environment
Concepts: General
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Ireland

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Seventh Chamber) 3 May 2007 (*) (Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Directive 2003/4/EC – Freedom of access to information – Environmental information – Failure to transpose within the prescribed period) In Case C‑391/06, ACTION under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 20 September 2006, Commission of the European Communities, represented by D. Lawunmi and U. Wölker, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg, applicant, v Ireland, represented by D. O’Hagan, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg, defendant, THE COURT (Seventh Chamber), composed of J. Klučka, President of the Chamber, P. Lindh and A. Arabadjiev (Rapporteur), Judges, Advocate General: D. Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer, Registrar: R. Grass, having regard to the written procedure, having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion, gives the following Judgment 1 By its application, the Commission of the European Communities asks the Court to declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC (OJ 2003 L 41, p. 26; ‘the directive’), or in any event by failing to communicate those provisions to it, Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 10 of that directive. 2 According to Article 10(1) of the directive, Member States were to comply with the directive by 14 February 2005 and to inform the Commission thereof forthwith. 3 Since it had not been informed of the provisions adopted to transpose the directive into Irish law, the Commission initiated the infringement procedure laid down by Article 226 EC. After giving Ireland formal notice on 22 March 2005 to submit its observations, the Commission on 13 December 2005 delivered a reasoned opinion requesting that Member State to take the measures necessary to comply with the opinion within two months of its receipt. 4 Since the Commission had not received a reply from the Irish authorities to the reasoned opinion and was not in possession of any information enabling it to conclude that the directive had been transposed, it decided to institute these proceedings. 5 The Commission claims that Ireland has failed to take the measures necessary to comply with the directive. 6 In its defence, Ireland admits, in effect, that it has not transposed the directive within the prescribed period, referring to the legislative process which is underway to ensure its transposition. 7 It must be recalled in that regard that, according to settled case-law, 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 (see, in particular, Case C-122/02 Commission v Belgium [2003] ECR I-833, paragraph 11, and Case C-266/03 Commission v Luxembourg [2005] ECR I-4805, paragraph 36). 8 In this case, it is common ground that no text transposing the directive into Irish law had been adopted within the time-limit laid down in the reasoned opinion. 9 The action brought by the Commission must therefore be considered to be well founded. 10 It must therefore be declared that, by failing to adopt within the period prescribed the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with the directive, Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive. Costs 11 Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the successful party’s pleadings. Since the Commission has applied for costs and Ireland has been unsuccessful, the latter must be ordered to pay the costs. On those grounds, the Court (Seventh Chamber) hereby: 1. Declares that, by failing to adopt within the period prescribed the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive 2003/4/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2003 on public access to environmental information and repealing Council Directive 90/313/EEC, Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive; 2. Orders Ireland to pay the costs. [Signatures] * Language of the case: English.