A4-0001/97

Resolution on the Commission's Thirteenth Annual Report to Parliament on monitoring the application of Community law - 1995 (COM(96)0600 - C4-0363/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission's Thirteenth Annual Report (COM(96)0600 - C4-0363/96) ((OJ C 303, 14.10.1996.)),

- having regard to Declaration 19 on the implementation of Community law, annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty on European Union,

- having regard to the Council resolution of 7 December 1992 on making the single market work ((OJ C 334, 18.12.1992, p. 1.)),

- having regard to the Council resolution of 8 June 1993 on the quality of drafting of Community legislation ((OJ C 166, 17.6.1993, p. 1.)),

- having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and Parliament of 16 February 1994 on the development of administrative cooperation in the implementation and enforcement of Community legislation in the internal market (COM(94)0029 - C3-0108/94),

- having regard to the Council resolution of 16 June 1994 on the development of administrative cooperation in the implementation and enforcement of Community legislation in the internal market ((OJ C 179, 1.7.1994, p. 1.)),

- having regard to the Commission report of 29 January 1996 to the Council and the European Parliament on cooperation between administrations for enforcement of internal market law - a progress report (COM(96)0020),

- having regard to the Council resolution of 20 June 1994 on the electronic dissemination of Community law and national implementing laws and on improved access conditions ((OJ C 179, 1.7.1994, p. 3.)),

- having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement of 20 December 1994 on an accelerated working method simplifying decision-making procedures with regard to legislative codification ((OJ C 293, 8.11.1995, p. 2.)),

- having regard to certain proposals in the report by the Molitor Group on legislative and administrative simplification, submitted to the European Council in Cannes in June 1995,

- having regard to its resolution of 4 July 1996 on the report of the group of independent experts on simplification of Community legislation and administrative provisions ('Deregulation') ((OJ C 211, 22.7.1996, p. 23.)),

- having regard to the Commission communication to the Council and Parliament of 3 May 1995 on the role of penalties in implementing Community internal market legislation (COM(95)0162),

- having regard to the Council resolution of 29 June 1995 on the effective uniform application of Community law and on the penalties applicable for breaches of Community law in the internal market ((OJ C 188, 22.7.1995, p. 1.)),

- having regard to the case law of the Court of Justice concerning the liability of a Member State for damage caused to individuals by violations of Community law ((CJEC, Judgment du 19 November 1991, Case C-6/90 and C-9/90, Francovich et Bonifaci, ECR I-5357; CJEC, Judgment of 5 March 1996, Case C-46/93 and C-48/93, Brasserie du pêcheur et Factortame, ECR I-1029; CJEC, Judgment of 26 March 1996, Case C-392/93, British Telecommunications, ECR I-1631; CJEC, Judgment of 23 May 1996, Case C-5/94, Hedley Lomas; CJEC, Judgment of 8 October 1996, Case C-178/94, C-179/94, C-188/94 - C-190/94, Erich Dillenkofer;)),

- having regard to the case law of the Court of Justice and of the Court of First Instance concerning the Community's extra-contractual liability, in particular that of the last five years ((CFI, Judgment of 18.05.95, Case T-478/93, 'Wafer Zoo', ECR II-1479 CFI, Judgment of 06.07.95, Case T-572/93, 'Odigitria', ECR II-2025 CFI, Judgment of 15.03.95, Case T-514/93, 'Cobrecaf', ECR II-0621 CJEC, Judgment of 13.03.92, Case C-282/90, 'Industrie- en Handelsonderneming Vreugdenhil', ECR I-1937 CJEC, Judgment of 08.04.92, Case C-55/90, 'James Joseph Cato', ECR I2533 CJEC, Judgment of 07.05.92, joined cases C-258/90 and C-259/90, 'Pesquerias de Bermeo', ECR I-2901 CJEC, Judgment of 03.12.92, Case C-97/91, 'Oleificio Borelli', ECR I6313 CJEC, Judgment of 29.04.93, Case C-182/91, 'Forafrique Burkinabe', ECR I-2161 CJEC, Judgment of 25.05.93, Case C-370/89, 'Société générale d'entreprises électro-mécaniques', ECR I-2583 CJEC, Judgment of 15.09.94, Case C-146/91, 'Koinopraxia Enóséon Georgikon', ECR I-4199 CFI, Judgment of 15.12.94, Case T-489/93, 'Unifruit Hellas', ECR II-1201 CFI, Judgment of 21.02.95, Case T-472/93, 'Campo Ebro Industrial', ECR II-0421 CFI, Judgment of 14.09.95, joined cases T-480/93 and T-483/93, 'Antillean Rice Mills NV', ECR II-2305 CFI, Judgment of 14.09.95, Case T-571/93, 'Lefebvre frères and soeurs', ECR II-2379 CFI, Judgment of 18.09.95, Case T-167/94, 'Dandlef Nölle', ECR II-2589 CFI, Judgment of 18.09.95, Case T-168/94, 'Blackspur DIY', ECR II-2627 CFI, Judgment of 13.12.95, joined cases T-481/93 and T-484/93, 'Vereniging van Exporteurs in Levende Varkens', ECR II-2941 CFI, Judgment of 21.03.96, Case T-230/94, 'Frederick Farrugia', ECR II195 CFI, Judgment of 16.01.96, Case T-108/94, 'Elena Candiotte', ECR II-87 CJEC, Judgment of 18.05.93, Case C-220/91 P., 'Stahlwerke PeineSalzgitter', ECR I-2393 CFI, Order of 26.11.93, Case T-460/93, 'Étienne Tête', ECR II-1257 CFI, Order of 29.11.94, joined cases T-479/93 and T-559/93, 'Giorgio Bernardi', ECR II-1115 CFI, Judgment of 09.01.96, Case T-575/93, 'Casper Koelman', ECR II-1 CJEC, Judgment of 02.12.92, Case C-370/89, 'Société générale d'entreprises électro-mécaniques', ECR I-6211 CJEC, Judgment of 19.05.92, joined cases C-104/89 and C-37/90, 'J. M. Mulder et Autres', ECR I-3061 CFI, Judgment of 16.11.94, Case T-451/93, 'San Marco Impex Italiana', ECR II-1061 CJEC, Judgment of 17.09.96, Case C-19/95 P., 'San Marco Impex Italiana' CFI, Judgment of 17.10.96, Case T-336/94, 'Efisol' CJEC, Order of 21.6.93, Case C-257/93, 'Leon Van Parijs', ECR I-3335, which granted the application insofar as it sought reparation; that case became Case T-517/93 and was then deleted from the register.)),

- having regard to the Commission proposal for a Council Decision on a Joint Action adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union on a programme of incentives and exchanges for practitioners in the justice area (COM(96)0253 - 96/0146(CNS)),

- having regard to the report 'Better law-making' from the Commission to the European Council on the application of the subsidiarity and proportionality principles, on simplification and on consolidation (CSE(95)0580),

- having regard to its resolution of 14 October 1981 on the responsibility of the Court of Justice of the European Communities for the uniform application of Community law in the Member States ((OJ C 287, 9.11.1981, p. 47.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 9 February 1983 on the responsibility of the Member States for the application of and compliance with Community law ((OJ C 68, 14.3.1983, p. 32.)),

- having regard to the Commission communication of 5 June 1996 on the implementation of Article 171 of the Treaty ((OJ C 242, 21.8.1996, p. 6.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 20 April 1994 on the Commission's Tenth Annual Report on monitoring the application of Community law ((OJ C 128, 9.5.1994, p. 192.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 20 January 1995 on the Commission's Eleventh Annual Report on monitoring the application of Community law ((OJ C 43, 20.2.1995, p. 122.)),

- having regard to its resolution of 13 February 1996 on the Commission's Twelfth Annual Report on monitoring the application of Community law ((OJ C 65, 3.6.1996, p. 37.)),

- having regard to certain petitions submitted to the Committee on Petitions on faulty transposition of certain Community directives,

- having regard to the Commission's report of 20 February 1996 to the Council and Parliament on the single market in 1995 (COM(96)0051),

- having regard to the Commission staff working paper of 31 May 1996 entitled 'CELEX (interinstitutional computerized documentation system for Community law) - 1995 Annual Management Report' (SEC(96)0955),

- having regard to its resolution of 12 October 1995 on the transparency of Council decisions and Community legislative procedures ((OJ C 287, 30.10.1995, p. 179.)),

- having regard to the Code of Conduct concerning public access to Council and Commission documents (93/730/EC) ((OJ L 340, 31.12.1993, p. 41.)),

- having regard to the Code of Conduct of the Council of 2 October 1995 concerning the publishing of Council minutes and statements in the minutes,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Citizens' Rights and the opinions of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Consumer Protection, the Committee on Petitions, the Committee on External Economic Relations and the Committee on Women's Rights (A4- 0001/97),

A. whereas the European Community is 'a Community based on the rule of law, inasmuch as neither its Member States nor its institutions can avoid a review of the question whether the measures adopted by them are in conformity with the basic constitutional charter, the Treaty' ((CJEC, judgment of 23.4.1986, Case 294/83, 'Les Verts', ECR I, p.1339, paragraph 23.)),

B. whereas the annual Commission reports on monitoring the application of Community law have two main functions, i.e. establishing the state of transposition of directives by the Member States and giving an account of the use which the Commission has made of its discretionary power to initiate infringement proceedings; whereas, in that connection, the use the Commission makes of its discretionary power is not consistent with the fundamental requirements regarding transparency, particularly at the pre- litigation stage provided for in Article 169 of the EC Treaty,

C. whereas consideration of the annual Commission report on monitoring the application of Community law allows Parliament, at the same time, to reflect in more general terms on the nature of and the outlook for Community law and the manner in which it is applied by members of the various legal professions, the public authorities and, in particular, by national judges, who are the Community's everyday judges,

D. whereas, when set against the total number of directives in force, the average notification rate for transposition measures taken by the Member States as a whole is 90.7%; whereas, however, account should be taken primarily of the effective application of directives under national legal systems,

E. whereas the notification rates for transposition measures vary from area to area and from Member State to Member State,

F. whereas the requirement that the Member States apply Community law implies not only that transposition should be carried out correctly, but also that Community acts should be implemented by the competent administrative authorities of each Member State in such a way that they produce the effects envisaged by the Community legal system,

G. whereas it is essential to establish permanent dialogue at different levels between the EU authorities and national authorities in order to create a Community genuinely based on the rule of law,

H. whereas, in its report of 29 January 1996 on cooperation between administrations for enforcement of internal market law, the Commission notes that the most frequent causes of delays in the application of Community law include:

(a) the complex nature of the decision-making process in the Member States, which involves, at various levels, both the central administrative authorities and regional and local authorities;

(b) the difficulties in translating texts into the various official EU languages,

I. whereas there is a need to improve the public image of the European integration process, not least by making Community legislation simpler, more transparent and more accessible to the public,

J. having regard to the responsibility borne by national parliaments when they transpose Community directives into national law and the need for that transposition to be carried out correctly,

K. whereas Community law may even become ineffective if the legal professions are unaware of the latest developments,

L. whereas the European Union should help to finance the dissemination of Community law if it wishes to ensure its effective application,

M. whereas proceedings for compensation against a Member State which has failed to transpose Community law is often the only remedy which individuals have if they suffer loss or damage as a result of that failure; whereas, in this connection, it is vital that citizens, to whom Community law is addressed, should be aware of their rights so that they can play a role in the application of Community law,

N. whereas the right to reparation depends primarily on national law as regards its basic conditions and formal requirements,

O. whereas the number of judgments establishing a breach of Community law by a Member State which have not been implemented is too high and has increased further,

P. whereas, in its communication of 5 June 1996, the Commission laid down the criteria for the implementation of Article 171 of the EC Treaty, stressing, at the same time, that penalty payments represent the most appropriate means of forcing the Member States to take the measures needed to implement Court of Justice judgments and that these measures must be drawn up as objectively as possible,

1. Notes that there are problems with regard to the transposition of Community law in a number of Member States and a number of areas;

2. Takes the view that the Member State bodies responsible for transposing Community law into national law must be encouraged by the Commission to request its technical assistance whenever necessary so as to ensure that transposition is carried out correctly;

3. Expresses its concern at the fact that some Member States deliberately do not transpose directives, thereby taking a unilateral decision not to honour their obligations and undermining the very idea of a Community based on the rule of law;

4. Is deeply concerned by the fact that in several cases, especially in the areas of the single market and the environment, Member States have not complied with judgments of the Court of Justice; welcomes the recent Commission decision, implementing the Treaty on European Union, defining the method of calculation that it will apply for proposing financial penalties to be paid by Member States that do not carry out a ruling by the Court of Justice; insists that the Commission makes early use of this instrument (Article 171 EC);

5. Stresses, as co-legislator, the priority it attaches to the fact that directives adopted should be consistent with the subsidiarity principle, and should also be clear and concise to avoid problems of all kinds when they are transposed;

6. Takes the view that cooperation and the exchange of information between the Commission and the national authorities, both at the pre-legislative stage and at the stage when Community acts are implemented, will facilitate the correct application of Community law;

7. Expresses its concern at the lack of public enthusiasm for the European integration process and takes the view that this phenomenon might be due both to a lack of appropriate information and the adoption of acts which sometimes have no bearing on public concerns;

8. Notes with concern that the Commission's annual report reveals that in the environment, transport, energy and agriculture sectors the transposition rate is particularly unsatisfactory as regards directives adopted to implement the White Paper on the internal market;

9. Reiterates its call for the Commission to draw up, with regard to the Union's external economic and trade relations, a specific annual report assessing the degree of application of Community law deriving from external commitments;

10. Reiterates its calls for greater transparency in infringement proceedings, particularly as regards the Commission's reasons for taking action in certain cases and not doing so in others, and calls for the annual report to outline those reasons clearly;

11. Calls on the Commission to ensure that complaints and petitions are dealt with more rapidly by exercising more stringent control over the deadlines for replies from Member States;

12. Calls on the Commission to take the necessary measures to implement a uniform and more extensive checking procedure system of its own, with a view to increasing the efficiency of its monitoring role;

13. Takes the view that with regard to the content and presentation of future annual reports the Commission should:

- explain the criteria used for identifying of the origins of suspected infringements;

- indicate how many and which complaints and cases detected by the Commission originally emanate from or have also been registered as petitions;

- indicate the average time between the letter of formal notice and the reasoned opinion;

- indicate the average time between the reasoned opinion and the point at which infringement cases cease or are referred to the Court of Justice;

- take account of the distribution of competences between the state and regional and local authorities in the various Member States in following and monitoring the application of Community law;

14. Considers that the 'package meetings' increase the Commission's ability to pass on information, but takes the view that they must not be used for the purpose of transactions on the application of Community law;

15. Proposes that national courts should be equipped with the means to access the CELEX system and that the Community should help to fund the relevant measures;

16. Welcomes the results obtained through the Karolus and Mathaeus programmes dealing with exchanges of national civil servants;

17. Applauds the Commission for having put forward the 'Robert SCHUMAN Action', which answers calls made by Parliament on a number of occasions, and strongly encourages it to continue that action;

18. Applauds the Council's determination to establish a programme of incentives and exchanges for practitioners in the justice area ('Grotius' programme);

19. Points out that programmes such as 'Schuman' and 'Grotius' must be endowed with adequate financial resources;

20. Urges the Member States to ensure that during their university studies lawyers acquire a thoroughgoing knowledge of Community law, and considers it essential that members of the legal professions in the Member States should receive training in Community law before starting to practise;

21. Draws attention to the fundamental role in the application of Community law played by citizens aware of their rights, who assert their right to compensation against a Member State which has failed to comply with its obligations under Community law;

22. Welcomes the 'Citizens of Europe' initiative launched by the Commission and Parliament on 26 November 1996, which answers a call made by Parliament in its resolution of 13 February 1996 on monitoring the application of Community law concerning the publication of a practical guide to citizens' rights which reflects the case law of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance, and stresses the importance of including in it a specific section dealing with means of redress in all cases where Community law is not applied effectively; takes the view that this initiative, which is designed to inform citizens about their rights, will also enable the Commission to draw lessons regarding the shortcomings in the operation of the internal market;

23. Welcomes the fact that the Court of Justice has established the principle that one of the conditions justifying an action for compensation has been met if a Member State takes no steps to transpose a directive;

24. Urges consideration of the danger that the right to compensation may become illusory, in cases where national legislators have broad discretionary powers, if the three conditions governing the right to compensation laid down by Community case law were to correspond in substance to those which the Court has laid down by way of interpretation of the second paragraph of Article 215;

25. Urges in-depth consideration of the consequences which a damages judgment awarded on the basis of the national law of the Member State responsible for the infringement may have for the principle of the uniform application of Community law;

26. Regrets the fact that there are 93 judgments which have not been implemented by Member States, calls on the Member States concerned to fulfil their obligations without delay and, in this connection, urges the Commission to apply Article 171 of the EC Treaty;

27. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Court of Justice and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.