1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 17 March 1994, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EC Treaty for a declaration that, by failing to adopt the measures necessary for the transposition of Council Directive 90/667/EEC of 27 November 1990 laying down the veterinary rules for the disposal and processing of animal waste, for its placing on the market and for the prevention of pathogens in feedstuffs of animal or fish origin, and amending Directive 90/425/EEC (OJ 1990 L 363, p. 51), the Kingdom of the Netherlands has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty.
2 Article 21(1) of Directive 90/667 provides that the Member States are to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative measures necessary to comply with the directive by 31 December 1991 at the latest.
3 The Commission points out in its application that under Article 189 of the Treaty a directive is binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed but leaves to the national authorities the choice of form and methods. It follows from the binding nature of directives that the Member States are required to comply with the time-limits prescribed, as is clear ° in particular ° from the Court' s judgment in Case 10/76 Commission v Italy [1976] ECR 1359.
4 The Commission claims that, by failing to adopt the measures necessary for the transposition of Directive 90/667 into Netherlands law within the period prescribed in the directive, that is to say, by 31 December 1991 and thus jeopardizing the establishment of the internal market, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has failed to fulfil its obligations under Community law.
5 The Netherlands Government accepts that Directive 90/667 was not transposed within the period prescribed by the directive. By way of explanation it states that the primary reason for the delay is that the directive provides for an entirely new system requiring significant legislative amendment and that the implementing measures are currently going through the necessary parliamentary procedure.
6 Consequently, by failing to adopt the measures necessary for the transposition of the directive in question within the period prescribed, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 21(1) of the directive.