«(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations – Directives 92/43/EEC and 79/409/EEC – Conservation of natural habitats and wild birds)»

Acts of the institutions – Directives – Implementation by the Member States – Need for full transposition – Provision requiring monitoring reports to be drawn up and forwarded to the Commission – Provision not necessarily requiring specific implementing measures (Council Directive 79/409, Art. 12(1)) 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. In order to concern only the relations between Member States and the Commission Article 12(1) of Directive 79/409 on the conservation of wild birds, which requires the Member States to draw up every three years a report on the implementation of national provisions taken under that directive and forward it to the Commission so that it can check that the directive has been complied with by the Member States, need not necessarily require the adoption of specific implementing measures in national law.see paras 19-20

JUDGMENT OF THE COURT 24 June 2003 (1)

((Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations – Directives 92/43/EEC and 79/409/EEC – Conservation of natural habitats and wild birds))

In Case C-72/02,

applicant,

v

defendant,

APPLICATION for a declaration that, by failing to implement in national law:

by failing to implement correctly:

the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 23 of Directive 92/43 and Article 18 of Directive 79/409,

THE COURT,,

composed of: G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias, President, J.-P. Puissochet, M. Wathelet, R. Schintgen and C.W.A. Timmermans (Presidents of Chambers), C. Gulmann (Rapporteur), D.A.O. Edward, A. La Pergola, P. Jann, V. Skouris, F. Macken, N. Colneric, S. von Bahr, J.N. Cunha Rodrigues and A. Rosas, Judges,

Advocate General: S. Alber,

having regard to the report of the Judge-Rapporteur,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 6 March 2003,

gives the following

by failing to implement correctly:

the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 23 of Directive 92/43 and Article 18 of Directive 79/409.

Directive 79/409

Directive 92/43

The alleged failure to implement Article 12 of Directive 79/409

by failing to implement correctly:

the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty.

On those grounds,

THE COURT

hereby:

by failing to implement correctly:

the Portuguese Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty; 2. Dismisses the remainder of the application;

Rodríguez Iglesias

Puissochet

Wathelet

Schintgen

Timmermans

Gulmann

Edward

La Pergola

Jann

Skouris

Macken

Colneric

von Bahr

Cunha Rodrigues

Rosas

Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 24 June 2003.

R. Grass

G.C. Rodríguez Iglesias

Registrar

President