Opinion of Mr Advocate General Alber delivered on 14 June 2001. - Commission of the European Communities v Hellenic Republic. - Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Directive 95/69/EC - Animal nutrition - Non-implementation. - Case C-457/99.



European Court reports 2001 Page I-07499



Opinion of the Advocate-General

I - Facts, procedure and forms of order sought by the parties

1. Having partially discontinued its application, the Commission is bringing an action for infringement of the EC Treaty, submitting that there has been a failure to transpose a directive.

2. Council Directive 95/69/EC of 22 December 1995 laying down the conditions and arrangements for approving and registering certain establishments and intermediaries operating in the animal feed sector and amending Directives 70/524/EEC, 74/63/EEC, 79/373/EEC and 82/471/EEC was to be implemented by 1 April 1998 at the latest.

3. The Commission did not receive any information from the Hellenic Republic concerning implementation. That is why on 16 July 1998 it sent the latter a letter of formal notice requesting it to submit observations within two months. That letter remained unanswered. On 18 January 1999, the Commission therefore sent the Hellenic Republic a reasoned opinion, in which a final two-month period for implementation was set. That reasoned opinion also remained unanswered. Consequently, the Commission of the European Communities brought the present default proceedings against the Hellenic Republic, the application being registered at the Court Registry on 1 December 1999.

4. The Commission of the European Communities claims that the Court should:

- declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 95/69/EC of 22 December 1995 laying down the conditions and arrangements for approving and registering certain establishments and intermediaries operating in the animal feed sector and amending Directives 70/524/EEC, 74/63/EEC, 79/373/EEC and 82/471/EEC, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty and that directive;

- order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs.

5. The Hellenic Republic contends that the action should be dismissed.

II - Legal analysis

Arguments of the parties

6. The Commission points out that, in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 249 EC and Article 10 EC, Member States are required to take the measures necessary to transpose directives into national law before the expiry of the periods laid down therein for that purpose. Member States are also required to inform the Commission immediately of those measures. Those periods have expired without the Hellenic Republic having informed the Commission of any provisions effecting the incorporation into national law of the directive in question.

7. The Hellenic Republic states that considerable progress has been made with the preparatory work for the implementation of the directive and that the adoption of the appropriate legislative provisions is imminent.

Analysis

8. At the decisive moment in the Treaty infringement procedure, namely on the expiry of the two-month period fixed in the reasoned opinion, which had begun on 18 January 1999, the fault complained of had still not been remedied - even allowing for possible extension of the time-limit to allow for the post. The action against the Hellenic Republic must therefore be upheld.

9. The question of the costs of these remaining proceedings is governed by Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure. Under Article 69(5) of the Rules of Procedure, the Hellenic Republic must also be ordered to pay the costs of the part of the application which the Commission has discontinued, since that was also attributable to the delay in the transposition of directives.

III - Conclusion

10. Therefore I propose that the Court of Justice should:

(1) declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to transpose Council Directive 95/69/EC of 22 December 1995 laying down the conditions and arrangements for approving and registering certain establishments and intermediaries operating in the animal feed sector and amending Directives 70/524/EEC, 74/63/EEC, 79/373/EEC and 82/471/EEC, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty and that directive;

(2) order the Hellenic Republic to pay the costs of the proceedings.