CELEX: C2007/095/38
Language: en
Date: 2007-04-28 00:00:00
Title: Case C-85/07: Action brought on 15 February 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic

28.4.2007   
            
            
               EN
            
            
               Official Journal of the European Union
            
            
               C 95/21
            
         Action brought on 15 February 2007 — Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic
   (Case C-85/07)
   (2007/C 95/38)
   Language of the case: Italian
   Parties
   
      Applicant: Commission of the European Communities (represented by: S. Pardo Quintillán and D. Recchia, acting as Agents)
   
      Defendant: Italian Republic
   Forms of order sought
   The applicant claims that the Court should:
   
               —
            
            
               declare that, in respect of the pilot river basin district of the River Serchio and the river basin districts of the Eastern Alps and the Northern, Central and Southern Appennines, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 5(1) and 15(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2000 establishing a framework for Community action in the field of water policy (1), in so far as it has failed:
               
                           —
                        
                        
                           to submit summary reports of the analyses required under Article 5, as provided for in Article 15(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC, and
                        
                     
                           —
                        
                        
                           to undertake the analyses and the review provided for in Article 5(1) of that Directive;
                        
                     
         
               —
            
            
               order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.
            
         Pleas in law and main arguments
   Directive 2000/60/EC was received into Italian law by means of Legislative Decree No 152 of 3 April 2006. Article 64 of that Decree identifies eight river basin districts, namely, the river basin district of the Eastern Alps, the river basin district of the Po Valley, the river basin district of the Northern Appennines, the pilot river basin district of the River Serchio, the river basin district of the Central Appennines, the river basin district of the Southern Appennines, the river basin district of Sardinia and the river basin district of Sicily.
   The Directive entered into force on 22 December 2000. In consequence, the analyses and the review provided for in Article 5(1) of the Directive should have been completed, in respect of all eight river basin districts, by 22 December 2004.
   In addition, the summary report of the analyses required under Article 5 for every river basin district, provided for in Article 15(2) of the Directive, should have been submitted to the Commission by 22 March 2005.
   However, it is clear from an analysis of the communications from the Italian authorities that, in the case of five out of the eight river basin districts, the required information is either incomplete or missing altogether.
   The Italian Republic has not submitted a summary report concerning the analyses and the review required under Article 5 for the pilot river basin district of the River Serchio or for the river basin districts of the Eastern Alps, the Northern Appennines, the Central Appennines and the Southern Appennines. Accordingly, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 15(2) of Directive 2000/60/EC.
   Lastly, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the Commission submits that the Italian Republic has also failed to fulfil its obligation to undertake, by the deadline fixed, the analyses and the review required under Article 5(1) of Directive 2000/60/EC, in accordance with the technical specifications set out in Annexes II and III to that Directive, in respect of the river basin districts referred to in the preceding paragraph.
   
      (1)  OJ L 327, 22.12.2000, p. 1.