Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2002:489
Date: 2002-09-12
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Environment
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - successful
Origin: Belgium

Summary of the Judgment 
Acts of the institutions — Directives — Implementation by the Member States — Need 
to ensure that directives are effective — Directive 92/43 — Obligation for Member 
States, when carrying out a project which could damage the environment, to inform the 
Commission of the compensatory measures adopted — Obligation not complied with in 
the absence of a provision in national law laying down adequate detailed rules 
(Directive 92/43, Article 6(4), first subpara.) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-324/01 
Each of the Member States to which a 
directive is addressed is obliged to adopt, 
within the framework of its national legal 
system, all the measures necessary to ensure 
that the directive is fully effective, in 
accordance with the objective it pursues. 
The requirement that the Member State, in 
accordance with the second sentence of the 
first subparagraph of Article 6(4) of Direc­
tive 92/43 on the conservation of natural 
habitats and of wild fauna and flora, 
inform the Commission of the compensa­
tory measures adopted when a project 
which could damage the environment is 
carried out is intended to enable the Com­
mission to consider whether those measures 
are such as to ensure that the overall 
coherence of Natura 2000 is protected and, 
depending on the circumstances, to draw 
the appropriate conclusions. In the absence 
of a provision in national law which lays 
down adequate detailed rules concerning 
information on the compensatory meas­
ures, it is not possible to ensure that the 
second sentence of the first subparagraph 
of Article 6(4) of the Directive has full 
effect and attains its objective. Uncertainty 
at the domestic level concerning the pro­
cedure to be followed in order to comply 
with the obligation to inform is likely to 
hinder compliance with that obligation 
and, consequently, the attainment of its 
objective. 
(see paras 18-21) 
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