CELEX: 62002CJ0029
Language: en
Date: 2003-01-16 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (First Chamber) of 16 January 2003. # Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain. # Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Failure to transpose Directive 98/83/EC. # Case C-29/02.

Case C-29/02 Commission of the European CommunitiesvKingdom of Spain
            «(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Failure to transpose Directive 98/83/EC)»
            
               
                  Opinion of Advocate General Alber delivered on 5 November 2002 
                     
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                  Judgment of the Court (First Chamber), 16 January 2003  
                     
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            Summary of the Judgment
         
         
                  
                  Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Examination of merits by the Court – Situation to be taken into consideration – Situation at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion(Art. 226 EC)
      

      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
            
            JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (First Chamber)16 January 2003  (1)
         
         
            
         
               ((Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations – Failure to transpose Directive 98/83/EC))
               
            In Case C-29/02, 
            
            
             Commission of the European Communities  ,   represented by G. Valero Jordana, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
            
            
            applicant, 
            
            v
             Kingdom of Spain , represented by L. Fraguas Gadea, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,
            
            defendant, 
            
            APPLICATION for a declaration that, by failing to adopt or, in any event, to communicate to the Commission the laws, regulations
            and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water
            intended for human consumption (OJ 1998 L 330, p. 32), the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under that
            directive,
            
            
            THE COURT (First Chamber),,
            
            composed of: M. Wathelet, President of the Chamber, P. Jann and A. Rosas (Rapporteur), Judges, 
            
            Advocate General: S. Alber, Registrar: R. Grass, 
            
            
            having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,
            
            after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 5 November 2002,
         gives the following
         
         
         Judgment
         1
            
         By application lodged at the Court Registry on 1 February 2002, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action
         under Article 226 EC for a declaration that, by failing to adopt or, in any event, to communicate to the Commission the laws,
         regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality
         of water intended for human consumption (OJ 1998 L 330, p. 32;  
         the Directive), the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive. 
         
            
               Legal context
            
         
         2
            
         Article 17(1) of the Directive provides that Member States are to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative
         provisions necessary to comply with the Directive within two years of its entry into force and that they are forthwith to
         inform the Commission thereof. 
         
         
         3
            
         Article 18 states that the Directive  
         shall enter into force on the 20th day following its publication in the  
          Official Journal of the European Communities . Since the Directive was published on 5 December 1998, it entered into force on 25 December 1998 and the period for transposition
         expired on 25 December 2000. 
         Pre-litigation procedure
         
         4
            
         Taking the view that the Directive had not been transposed into Spanish law within the period prescribed, the Commission initiated
         the procedure provided for in Article 226 EC. On 18 July 2001, having given the Kingdom of Spain formal notice to submit its
         observations, the Commission issued a reasoned opinion calling on that Member State to take the necessary measures to comply
         with the reasoned opinion within two months of its notification. 
         
         
         5
            
         By letter of 12 October 2001, the Spanish authorities replied that in August of that year a draft royal decree laying down
         health parameters for the quality of water intended for human consumption had been forwarded to the Council of State for its
         opinion, and that another royal decree, relating to bottled water, was soon to be sent to it for its opinion. 
         
         
         6
            
         Taking the view that the Kingdom of Spain had not taken the measures necessary to transpose the Directive, the Commission
         brought the present action. 
         The failure to fulfil obligations
         
         7
            
         The Commission states that the drawing up of draft royal decrees cannot be regarded as a valid and sufficient measure for
         transposing the Directive and that the Kingdom of Spain has therefore failed to comply with its provisions. 
         
         
         8
            
         The Kingdom of Spain does not deny that it did not transpose the Directive within the period prescribed, and gives details
         of the stage reached in the procedure for the adoption of the measures transposing the Directive. 
         
         
         9
            
         It is settled case-law that 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,
          
          inter alia , Case C-29/01  
          Commission  v  
          Spain   [2002] ECR I-2503, paragraph 11). 
         
         
         10
            
         In the present case, no legislation transposing the Directive into the Spanish legal system had been adopted on the expiry
         of the period prescribed in the reasoned opinion. 
         
         
         11
            
         Accordingly, the Commission's action must be considered well founded. 
         
         
         12
            
         It must therefore be held that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply
         with the Directive, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive. 
         
         Costs
         13
            
         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 the Kingdom of Spain has been
         unsuccessful, the latter must be ordered to pay the costs. 
         
         On those grounds, 
         
         
         
            
            THE COURT (First Chamber)
         
         
         hereby: 
         
            
            1.
             Declares that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive
            98/83/EC of 3 November 1998 on the quality of water intended for human consumption, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil
            its obligations under that directive; 
            
            
            2.
             Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs. 
            
            
                  Wathelet
               
               
                  Jann 
               
               
                  Rosas 
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
                  
               
               
                  
               
               
                  
               
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
            
         
         
         Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 16 January 2003. 
         
         
         
         
                   R. Grass 
               
               
                  M. Wathelet  
               
            
         
         
         
                  Registrar
               
               
                  President of the First Chamber
               
            
      
      
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             Language of the case: Spanish.