«(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Conservation of natural habitats – Wild fauna and flora – Incomplete transposition)»

Acts of the institutions – Directives – Implementation by the Member States – Need to ensure that directives are effective – Directive 92/43 – Obligation for Member States, when carrying out a project which could damage the environment, to inform the Commission of the compensatory measures adopted – Obligation not complied with in the absence of a provision in national law laying down adequate detailed rules (Directive 92/43, Article 6(4), first subpara.) Each of the Member States to which a directive is addressed is obliged to adopt, within the framework of its national legal system, all the measures necessary to ensure that the directive is fully effective, in accordance with the objective it pursues. The requirement that the Member State, in accordance with the second sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 6(4) of Directive 92/43 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora, inform the Commission of the compensatory measures adopted when a project which could damage the environment is carried out is intended to enable the Commission to consider whether those measures are such as to ensure that the overall coherence of Natura 2000 is protected and, depending on the circumstances, to draw the appropriate conclusions. In the absence of a provision in national law which lays down adequate detailed rules concerning information on the compensatory measures, it is not possible to ensure that the second sentence of the first subparagraph of Article 6(4) of the Directive has full effect and attains its objective. Uncertainty at the domestic level concerning the procedure to be followed in order to comply with the obligation to inform is likely to hinder compliance with that obligation and, consequently, the attainment of its objective. see paras 18-21

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber) 5 December 2002 (1)

((Failure by a Member State to fulfil its obligations – Conservation of natural habitats – Wild fauna and flora – Incomplete transposition))

In Case C-324/01,

applicant,

v

defendant,

APPLICATION for a declaration that, by failing to take all the measures necessary to ensure the full and proper transposition of Articles 1, 4(5), 5(4), 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16(1), 22(b) and (c) and 23(2) of Council Directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (OJ 1992 L 206, p. 7), in conjunction with Annexes II, IV, V and VI thereto, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Directive and the third paragraph of Article 249 EC,

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),,

composed of: J.-P. Puissochet, President of the Chamber, C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), F. Macken, N. Colneric and J.N. Cunha Rodrigues, Judges,

Advocate General: P. Léger,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 12 September 2002,

gives the following

Failure to transpose the second sentence in the first subparagraph of Article 6(4) of the Directive

...

Failure to transpose Article 7 of the Directive

Failure to transpose Article 22(c) of the Directive

On those grounds,

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber)

hereby:

Puissochet

Gulmann

Macken

Colneric

Cunha Rodrigues

Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 5 December 2002.

R. Grass

J.-P. Puissochet

Registrar

President of the Sixth Chamber