1. By application lodged with the Court Registry on 2 October 2002, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 226 EC for a declaration that, by failing to adopt or by failing to notify to it the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive 2000/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the noise emission in the environment by equipment for use outdoors (OJ 2000 L 162, p. 1), the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive. Legal background
2. Article 22(1) of Directive 2000/14 provides: "Member States shall adopt and publish the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive no later than 3 July 2001. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof." Pre-litigation procedure
3. Having received no notification from the Hellenic Republic of the adoption of provisions transposing Directive 2000/14 and having no other information enabling it to conclude that such provisions had been adopted, the Commission took the view that the Hellenic Republic had not yet adopted those provisions and had, consequently, failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.
4. By letter of 19 October 2001, the Commission gave the Hellenic Republic formal notice to submit its observations within two months of notification of that letter.
5. In the absence of a reply from the Greek authorities, the Commission, by letter of 21 March 2002, sent a reasoned opinion to the Hellenic Republic, calling upon it to take the measures necessary to comply with Directive 2000/14 within two months of notification of that opinion.
6. Since the Hellenic Republic did not respond, the Commission concluded that those measures had not been adopted and brought the present action. The failure to fulfil obligations
7. It is established that the Greek authorities failed to transpose Directive 2000/14 within the period laid down in the reasoned opinion. Those authorities state that a ministerial decree bringing the Greek legislation into line with the directive is to be adopted very soon.
8. However, the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the legislative situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion (see, for example, Case C-147/00 Commission v France [2001] ECR I-2387, paragraph 26).
9. Since no measure transposing Directive 2000/14 was adopted by the Greek authorities within the prescribed period, the action brought by the Commission must be regarded as well founded.
10. Accordingly, it must be held that, by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive 2000/14, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 22(1) of that directive.