1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 10 September 1997, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EC Treaty for a declaration that, by failing to adopt and/or communicate the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary in order to comply with Council Directive 94/57/EC of 22 November 1994 on common rules and standards for ship inspection and survey organisations and for the relevant activities of maritime administrations (OJ 1994 L 319, p. 20; `the Directive'), the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty and the Directive.
2 Under Article 16 of the Directive the Member States were to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary in order to comply with the Directive no later than 31 December 1995 and immediately to inform the Commission thereof.
3 Since it had received no notification concerning the transposition of the Directive into Italian law and had no other information enabling it to conclude that the Italian Republic had complied with that obligation, the Commission sent that State a letter on 27 February 1996 giving it formal notice to submit its observations within two months from receipt thereof, in accordance with Article 169 of the Treaty.
4 Since the Italian Government did not respond to that letter, the Commission, by letter of 6 December 1996, sent the Italian Republic a reasoned opinion concerning its failure to fulfil the obligations imposed by the Directive and calling on it to take the necessary measures to comply with the opinion within two months from notification thereof.
5 By letter of 30 January 1997 the Italian Government informed the Commission that the Directive had been included in the 1995/1996 Community Law, which the Cabinet had approved at the meeting of 8 November 1996, and that the Directive had been submitted for consideration by Parliament, together with the other directives to be implemented by legislative decree.
6 In addition, on 30 July 1997 the Italian Government sent the Commission a copy of a draft law, accompanied by its explanatory memorandum, intended to transpose the Directive and stated that the legislative procedure in question would be completed before the summer recess.
7 Not having received any other information from the Italian Government enabling it to conclude that the Italian Republic had in the meantime complied with the obligations under the Directive, the Commission brought this action.
8 The Italian Government does not deny that it has failed to fulfil its obligations and states that the measures necessary in order to transpose the Directive are in the course of being adopted.
9 Since the Directive has not been transposed within the period laid down therein, the Commission's application must be held to be well founded.
10 It must therefore be held that, by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary in order to comply with the Directive, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 16 thereof.