Avis juridique important

Judgment of the Court of 13 October 1993. - Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Spain. - Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations - Directive 88/658/EEC - Failure to transpose within the prescribed period. - Case C-378/92. European Court reports 1993 Page I-05095

Summary Parties Grounds Decision on costs Operative part

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Member States ° Obligations ° Failure to fulfil ° Failure to fulfil specific obligations under a directive and failure to fulfil the general obligation imposed by Article 5 of the Treaty

(EEC Treaty, Arts 5 and 169)

Where a Member State has failed to fulfil its specific obligations under a directive, no purpose is served by considering the question whether it has thereby also failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 5 of the Treaty.

In Case C-378/92,

Commission of the European Communities, represented by José Luis Iglesias Buhigues, Legal Adviser, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Nicola Annecchino, of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg,

applicant,

v

Kingdom of Spain, represented by Alberto Navarro González, Director-General for Legal and Community Institutional Coordination, and by Antonio Hierro Hernández-Mora, Abogado del Estado, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Spanish Embassy, 4-6, Boulevard Emanuel Servais,

defendant,

APPLICATION for a declaration that by failing to adopt and to bring into force within the prescribed period the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 88/658/EEC of 14 December 1988 amending Directive 77/99/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products (OJ 1988 L 382, p. 15), the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 5 and 189 of the EEC Treaty,

THE COURT,

composed of O. Due, President, G.F. Mancini, J.C. Moitinho de Almeida, M. Diez de Velasco (Presidents of Chambers), C.N. Kakouris, F.A. Schockweiler, F. Grévisse, M. Zuleeg and P.J.G. Kapteyn, Judges,

Advocate General: M. Darmon,

Registrar: J.-G. Giraud,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General delivered at the sitting on 21 September 1993,

gives the following

Judgment

1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 12 October 1992, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty for a declaration that by failing to adopt and to bring into force within the prescribed period the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 88/658/EEC of 14 December 1988 amending Directive 77/99/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products (OJ 1988 L 382, p. 15, the "directive"), the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under Articles 5 and 189 of the EEC Treaty.

2 Article 3 of the directive provides that Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with that directive not later than 1 July 1990 and that they shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

3 Since it had received no communication from the Spanish Government concerning the transposition of the directive into domestic law and had no other information suggesting that the Kingdom of Spain had adopted the necessary provisions in that regard, the Commission initiated the procedure provided for in Article 169 of the EEC Treaty against that State.

4 Reference is made to the Report of the Judge-Rapporteur for a fuller account of the facts, the procedure and the pleas and arguments of the parties, which are mentioned or discussed hereinafter only in so far as is necessary for the reasoning of the Court.

5 The Spanish Government admits that the directive was not transposed within the prescribed time-limit. It merely states that the delay in implementing the directive was due to difficulties arising, first, because there are several competent ministries and, secondly, because Council Directive 92/5/EEC of 10 February 1992 amending and updating Directive 77/99/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products and amending Directive 64/433/EEC (OJ 1992 L 57, p. 1) was adopted; that directive substantively altered the amendments which Directive 88/658 made to Directive 77/99. It points out, however, that the procedure for adopting the necessary implementing measures is under way.

Costs

8 Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs. Since the Kingdom of Spain been unsuccessful, it must be ordered to pay the costs.

On those grounds,

THE COURT

hereby:

1. Declares that, by failing to adopt and bring into force within the prescribed period the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 88/658/EEC of 14 December 1988 amending Directive 77/99/EEC on health problems affecting intra-Community trade in meat products, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty;

2. Orders the Kingdom of Spain to pay the costs.