FOR THE PREVIOUS MONTH .
3 COMMISSION REGULATION NO 1868/77 FURTHER PROVIDES, IN ARTICLE 4 ( 1 ), THAT THE AFORESAID SUMMARY IS TO BE FORWARDED BY MEMBER STATES TO THE COMMISSION EACH CALENDAR MONTH NOT LATER THAN FOUR WEEKS AFTER THE END OF THE MONTH TO WHICH THE FIGURES REFER . FINALLY, ARTICLE 6 PROVIDES THAT BEFORE 30 JANUARY EACH YEAR, MEMBER STATES ARE TO SEND TO THE COMMISSION STATISTICS ON THE STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITY OF HATCHERIES .
4 REFERENCE IS MADE TO THE REPORT FOR THE HEARING FOR A FULLER ACCOUNT OF THE FACTS OF THE CASE, THE PROCEDURE AND THE SUBMISSIONS AND ARGUMENTS OF THE PARTIES, WHICH ARE MENTIONED HEREINAFTER ONLY IN SO FAR AS IS NECESSARY FOR THE REASONING OF THE COURT .
SUBJECT-MATTER OF THE DISPUTE
5 WITH REGARD TO THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF THIS DISPUTE, IT MUST BE BORNE IN MIND THAT THE SCOPE OF AN ACTION BROUGHT UNDER ARTICLE 169 OF THE TREATY IS DELIMITED BOTH BY THE PRELIMINARY ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE PROVIDED FOR BY THAT ARTICLE AND BY THE CONCLUSIONS SET OUT IN THE APPLICATION, SINCE THE COMMISSION' S REASONED OPINION AND ITS APPLICATION MUST BE FOUNDED ON THE SAME GROUNDS AND SUBMISSIONS ( SEE THE JUDGMENT OF 7 FEBRUARY 1984 IN CASE 166/82 COMMISSION V ITALIAN REPUBLIC (( 1984 )) ECR 459 ). IT IS CLEAR FROM THE DOCUMENTS BEFORE THE COURT THAT SOME OF THE DELAYS COMPLAINED OF IN THE APPLICATION OCCURRED AFTER THE REASONED OPINION WAS DELIVERED ON 24 APRIL 1985, INASMUCH AS THEY RELATE TO THE COMMUNICATION OF DATA THAT WERE TO BE FORWARDED AFTER THAT DATE .
6 IT MUST BE POINTED OUT, HOWEVER, THAT IN THE OPERATIVE PART OF ITS REASONED OPINION, THE COMMISSION ALLEGED IN GENERAL TERMS THAT, "BY NOT SENDING IT WITHIN THE PERIODS LAID DOWN THE STATISTICAL DATA" REFERRED TO IN ARTICLE 10 OF REGULATION NO 2782/75 OF THE COUNCIL AND ARTICLES 4 ( 1 ) AND 6 OF COMMISSION REGULATION NO 1868/77, THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC HAD FAILED TO FULFIL ITS OBLIGATIONS . IN THE STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR ITS OPINION, THE COMMISSION STATED THAT IT HAD SO FAR RECEIVED, FOLLOWING AN EXCHANGE OF LETTERS WITH THE ITALIAN GOVERNMENT IN 1983, ONLY COMPLETE MONTHLY DATA FOR JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 1983 AND SOME DATA FOR FEBRUARY, MARCH AND APRIL 1984, AND THAT THE LAST DULY COMPLETED ANNUAL STATISTICAL RETURN IT HAD RECEIVED WAS FOR 1982 .
7 THE COMMISSION SIMILARLY CONCLUDED IN ITS APPLICATION THAT THE COURT SHOULD DECLARE THAT "BY NOT SENDING, WITHIN THE PRESCRIBED PERIODS, THE STATISTICAL DATA ...", THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC HAD FAILED TO FULFIL ITS OBLIGATIONS .
8 IN SUPPORT OF THAT CONCLUSION, THE COMMISSION RELIES ON THE FACT THAT THE ITALIAN REPUBLIC HAS STILL NOT FORWARDED THE STATISTICAL RETURNS ON THE STRUCTURE AND ACTIVITY OF HATCHERIES FOR 1984 AND 1985, WHICH SHOULD HAVE BEEN FORWARDED BEFORE 30 JANUARY 1985 AND 30 JANUARY 1986 RESPECTIVELY . FURTHERMORE, THE MONTHLY DATA ARE STILL CONSISTENTLY BEING RETURNED APPROXIMATELY TWO MONTHS AFTER THE EXPIRY OF