Avis juridique important

Judgment of the Court of 11 July 1991. - Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic. - Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Failure to implement a directive. - Case C-296/90. European Court reports 1991 Page I-03847

Parties Grounds Decision on costs Operative part

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Member States - Obligations - Implementation of directives - Failure to fulfil obligations not contested

(EEC Treaty, Art. 169)

In Case C-296/90,

Commission of the European Communities, represented by its Legal Adviser, Giuliano Marenco, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the office of Guido Berardis, member of its Legal Service, Wagner Centre, Kirchberg,

applicant,

v

Italian Republic, represented by Professor Luigi Ferrari Bravo, Head of Legal Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, acting as Agent, assisted by Ivo Braguglia, Avvocato dello Stato, with an address for service in Luxembourg at the Italian Embassy, 5 Rue Marie-Adélaïde,

defendant,

APPLICATION for declaration that in failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the measures needed to transpose into domestic law Council Directive 85/384/EEC of 10 June 1985 on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in architecture, including measures to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment and freedom to provide services, Council Directive 85/614/EEC of 20 December 1985 amending Directive 85/384/EEC on account of the accession of Spain and Portugal, and Council Directive 86/17/EEC of 27 January 1986 amending Directive 85/384/EEC on account of the accession of Portugal, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty,

THE COURT,

composed of: G.F. Mancini, President of Chamber, acting as President of the Court, J.C. Moitinho de Almeida and M. Díez de Velasco (Presidents of Chambers), C.N. Kakouris, F. Grévisse, M. Zuleeg and P.J.G. Kapteyn, Judges,

Advocate General: M. Darmon,

Registrar: H.A. Ruehl, Principal Administrator,

having regard to the Report for the Hearing,

after hearing oral argument from the parties at the hearing on 27 June 1991,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General at the sitting on 2 July 1991,

gives the following

Judgment

1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 28 September 1990, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EEC Treaty for a declaration that, by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the measures needed to transpose into domestic law Council Directive 85/384/EEC of 10 June 1985 on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in architecture, including measures to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment and freedom to provide services (Official Journal 1985 L 223, p. 15), Council Directive 85/614/EEC of 20 December 1985 amending Directive 85/384/EEC on account of the accession of Spain and Portugal (Official Journal 1985 L 376, p. 1), and Council Directive 86/17/EEC of 27 January 1986 amending Directive 85/384/EEC on account of the accession of Portugal (Official Journal 1986 L 27, p. 71), the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty.

2 Those three directives were to enter into force in the Member States on 5 August 1987 at the latest and included an obligation for States to notify the Commission forthwith of measures taken to that effect. The Member States were granted an additional year, expiring on 5 August 1988, for transposing Article 22 of the Directive 85/384 into national law.

3 On 31 December 1988, having received no adequate information regarding the measures for the transposition of the directives in question into Italian law, the Commission, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 169 of the EEC Treaty, gave formal notice to the Italian Government to submit its observations. Since it received no answer to that letter, the Commission issued a reasoned opinion on 22 January 1990. Since it also received no response to that opinion, the Commission brought the action in this case.

4 Reference is made to the Report for the Hearing for a fuller account of the facts of the case, the course of the procedure and the pleas in law 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 Italian Government does not contest the allegation that it failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty.

6 It must therefore be declared that by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the measures needed to transpose into domestic law Directives 85/384, 85/614 and 86/17, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty.

Costs

7 Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs. Since the Italian Republic has failed in its pleas, it must be ordered to pay the costs.

On those grounds,

THE COURT

hereby:

1. Declares that, by failing to adopt, within the prescribed period, the measures needed to transpose into domestic law Council Directive 85/384/EEC of 10 June 1985 on the mutual recognition of diplomas, certificates and other evidence of formal qualifications in architecture, including measures to facilitate the effective exercise of the right of establishment and freedom to provide services, Council Directive 85/614/EEC of 20 December 1985 amending Directive 85/384/EEC on account of the accession of Spain and Portugal, and Council Directive 86/17/EEC of 27 January 1986 amending Directive 85/384/EEC on account of the accession of Portugal, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty;

2. Orders the Italian Republic to pay the costs.