C-69/77

Italian REPUBLIC, represented by its Ambassador Adolfo Maresca, acting as Agent, assistent by Ivo María Braguglia, Deputy State Advocate, with an address for service at the Italian Embassy,

defendant,

APPLICATION for a declaration that the Italian Republic, by not bringing into force within the prescribed periods the requisite provisions to comply with a number of directives of the Council on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors, has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty,

THE COURT

composed of: H. Kutscher, President, M. Sørensen and G. Bosco, Presidents of Chambers, A M. Donner, P. Pescatore, Lord Mackenzie Stuart and A. O'Keeffe, Judges,

Advocate General: G. Reischl Registrar: A. Van Houtte

The facts, the procedure, the "EEC type-approval", to distinguish it conclusions and the arguments and from "national type-approval" is "the submissions of the parties may be procedure whereby a Member State summarized as follows: certifies that a tractor type satisfies the technical requirements of the special directives and the checks listed in the I — Facts EEC type-approval certificate ..." (Article 2 (b) of the directive). The Council by a resolution dated 28 May 1969 adopted a programme for the Before the Member States approve any elimination of technical barriers to trade tractor type they are required to carry in industrial products which result from out a number of technical checks; they disparities between the provisions laid may verify by spot checks that down by law, regulation or production models conform to the administrative action in the Member approved prototype (Article 4). The States (Official Journal, English Special Member States are under an obligation Edition, Second Series, IX (Resolutions to supply each other with information, of the Council and of the Represen­ especially particulars of each tractor tatives of the Member States), p. 25). type which they approve or refuse to This programme laid down an order of approve (Article 5 (1)). The manu­ priorities for the elimination of the facturer in the country of registration majority of these barriers; in particular must complete a certificate of the second of the three stages provided conformity for each tractor manu­ for includes the adoption of directives factured in conformity with the relating to agricultural tractors and approved prototype (Article 5 (2)). "No machines. Member State may refuse the The Council began to implement this registration or may prohibit the sale, programme in 1974 by adopting an entry into service or use of any new outline directive and several special tractor on grounds relating to its con­ directives. struction or operation where that tractor is accompanied by a certificate The outline Directive No 74/150/EEC of conformity" (Article 7 (1)). If any of 4 March 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States Member State finds that any such relating to the type-approval of wheeled tractor does not conform to the type which it has approved it must take the agricultural or forestry tractors (Official necessary measures (Article 8 (1)); rules Journal L 84 of 28 March 1974, p. 10) are laid down for co-ordination and co­ introduced a system of "EEC type- operation between the competent approval", based on the principle of the national authorities (Article 8). mutual recognition of checks carried out and of certificates of conformity As far as concerns the various parts or issued by the competent national auth­ characteristics of a tractor which are of orities for tractors fitted with pneumatic importance from the standpoint of tyres and having a maximum design safety the special directives specify the speed of between 6 and 26 km/h. technical requirements to be complied

with so that the vehicle may be granted ones, to be amended. The sole purpose EEC type-approval. The intention is to of the latter, consisting at the time prin adopt some 40 directives; until all of cipally of Decree No 547 of 27 April them have been adopted transitional 1955 of the President of the Republic arrangements for "partial type- relating to the requirements for safety approval" are being made, restricted to guarantees (Gazzetta Ufficiale No 158 the parts or characteristics in respect of of 12 July 1955) and Decree No 93 of which Community requirements have 15 June 1959 of the President of the already been specified by means of Republic containing the consolidated directives. text of the provisions governing road Each of the special directives contains a traffic (Supplement to Gazzeta provision (Article 2) which forbids Ufficiale No 147 of 23 June 1959), was Member States to refuse to grant* EEC the national type-approval of tractors type-approval or national type-approval and agricultural machines in general. of a tractor on grounds relating to the These directives require the Member parts or characteristics which are dealt States to bring the requisite provisions with in the directive if they satisfy the into force within 18 months of the technical requirements set out in the notification of the directive; the pre

(silencer). Directive No 74/152/EEC, laws of the Member States relating to also of 4 March 1974, relates to the wheeled agricultural or forestry approximation of the laws of the tractors, it had failed to fulfil its Member States on maximum design obligations under the Treaty and invited speed and load platforms (Official it to submit its observations within two Journal L 84 of 28 March 1974, p. 33). months. Directive No 74/346/EEC of 25 June 1974 relates to the approximation of the On 5 July 1976 the Italian Government laws of the Member States on rear-view sent the Commission the text of a pre mirrors (Official Journal L 191 of 15 liminary draft of a law drawn up by the July 1974, p. 1); Directive No 74/347/ Ministry for Transport with a view to EEC, also of 25 June 1974, relates to implementing Directive No 74/150.

JUDGMENT OF 21. 9. 1978 — CASE 69/77

On 15 November 1976 the Government When the date for the opening of the of the Italian Republic informed the oral procedure had been finally Commission that the draft law drawn determined the Court invited the up by the Ministry for Transport must Commission to give at the hearing parti­ be regarded as having lapsed because of culars of the progress achieved by the premature end of the legislative Member States other than Italy in session and that an extension of time implementing the directives, the non- appeared to be necessary for the implementation whereof is the subject- adoption of a new draft. matter of the dispute. On 20 April 1977 the Commission gave notice to the Government of the Italian III — Conclusions of the parties Republic that it was unable to grant this application for an extension of time. The Commission claims that the Court By a telex message of 20 May 1977 the should: Italian Permanent Representation — Declare that the Italian Republic, by accredited to the Communities informed not bringing into force within the the Commission that the outline of a prescribed periods the necessary draft law on measures for the provisions to comply with Council implementation of the directives relating Directives Nos 74/150/EEC, 74/ to the type-approval of agricultural 151/EEC, 74/152/EEC, 74/346/ tractors had been approved by the EEC and 74/347/EEC on the Council of Ministers and forwarded to approximation of the laws of the the Senate on 19 April 1977. Member States relating to wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors, has failed to fulfil its obligations under II — Written procedure the Treaty; — Order the Italian Republic to pay The Commission, by an application the costs. lodged at the Court Registry on 6 June 1977, pursuant to the second paragraph The Government of the Italian Republic of Article 169 of the EEC Treaty, does not put forward any formal brought before the Court of Justice the conclusions. alleged failures on the part of the Italian Republic to implement the directives relating to wheeled agricultural or IV — Submissions and argu­ forestry tractors. ments of the parties The written procedure followed the during the written proce­ normal course. dure

the directives lay down for the adoption 74/151 does not contain any technical of implementing measures. A Member requirement as far as concerns angles of State cannot rely on the provisions, visibility and the illumination of the practices or situations prevailing in its registration plate; in Italy these matters domestic system to justify a failure to are regulated by specific binding rules. comply with duties and time-limits resulting from Community directives. These findings confirm the existence of The complexities and delays of national barriers to trade in Italy; the effect of the latter is that the manufacturers of parliamentary proceedings cannot the other Member States, in order to therefore justify the failure to meet the time-limit of 18 months prescribed by have access to the Italian market, are the directives in the case in point. forced to make their production of tractors conform to Italian technical On the substance of the case it is standards. This is the opposite result advisable to point out that Italian rules from those aimed at by the Community include a number of provisions which directives for harmonization. sometimes differ from and sometimes conflict with Community requirements. By not bringing into force, within the Thus Italy does not yet have parallel prescribed periods, the necesary provisions corresponding to the intro­ provisions to comply with Directives duction of EEC type-approval of Nos 74/150, 74/151, 74/152, 74/346 tractors; the transitional arrangements and 74/347 the Italian Republic has for partial EEC type-approval provided failed to fulfil its obligations under the by Article 10 of Directive No 74/150 Treaty. for parts and characteristics of tractors which have already been dealt with in a The Government of the Italian Republic special directive cannot be applied. stresses that the delay in giving effect to the directives is due to objective Tractors coming from other Member States can therefore be marketed in difficulties and not to an intention to

JUDGMENT OF 21. «λ 1978 — CASE 69/77

technical requirements upon the obser the purpose of the application: the vation of which EEC type-approval passing of the law did not take place depends shall be adopted by one or until well after the expiry of the period more decrees of the President of the prescribed for the Italian Republic. Republic on a proposal by the Minister The Italian Republic's default cannot be for Transport with the assent of the invoked against importers of tractors other ministers concerned in each case; manufactured in other Member States these requirements must correspond to which have been issued with a the technical provisions approved by the

It should be which is prohibited under Article 34 of possible to dispose within a short time the EEC Treaty. of the formalities which these measures involve and they will then become fully As far as concerns the implementation of the directives in the other Member effective in the national legal system. States it should be recorded that, on the When Law No 572 entered into force one hand, in the field of agricultural the subject-matter of the action ceased and forestry tractors altogether 13 to exist in so far as concerns the most directives have been issued and, on the serious of the infringements alleged by other hand, that in the case of ten of the Commission, that is the failure to them the time-limits for their incorporate outline Directive No implementation have expired and that

COMMISSION v ITALY

The Government of the Italian Republic argument is moreover inconsistent with points out that, if the argument put the actual aim of the Commission's forward by the Commission regarding application. the direct effect of the special directives were correct, the default alleged against The Advocate General delivered his the Italian Republic could only be of an opinion at the hearing on 5 July 1978. entirely abstract and formal kind. The

Decision

1 The Commission by an application dated 6 June 1977 has brought an action, in pursuance of Article 169 of the EEC Treaty, for a declaration that the Italian Republic, by neglecting to adopt within the prescribed periods the necessary provisions to comply with Council Directives Nos 74/150, 74/151, 74/152 of 4 March 1973 and Nos 74/346 and 74/347 of 25 June 1974 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to wheeled agricultural or forestry tractors (Official Journal L 84 of 28 March 1974, pp. 10, 25 and 33 and L 191 of 15 July 1974, pp. 1 and 5 respectively), has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty.

2 The Government of the Italian Republic submits that the delay in giving effect to the directives in question is due to an objective difficulty and not to an intention to delay the approximation of national laws in this sector.

3 These difficulties are said to be derived from the fact that, on the one hand, the subject-matter of the directives under the national legal system is the responsibility of several ministries and that, on the other hand, the passing of the draft law by Parliament for the purpose of giving effect to outline Directive No 74/150 was delayed by the premature end of the legislative session.

8 It follows that the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty.

Costs

9 Under Article 69 (2) of the Rules of Procedure the unsuccessful party shall be ordered to pay the costs.

12 The defendant has failed in its submissions.

On those grounds,

THE COURT

Donner Pescatore Mackenzie Stuart O'Keeffe

Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 21 September 1978.

A. Van Houtte H. Kutscher

Registrar President

OPINION OF MR ADVOCATE GENERAL REISCHL DELIVERED ON 5 JULY 1978 1

Mr President, English Special Edition, Second Series, Members of the Court, IX, p. 25) adopted Directive No 74/150/EEC of 4 March 1974 on the The Council, acting in pursuance of a approximation of the laws of the General Programme of 28 May 1969 Member States relating to the type- for the elimination of technical barriers approval of wheeled agricultural or to trade which result from disparities forestry tractors (Official Journal L 84 between the provisions laid down by of 28 March 1974, p. 10), which, for law, regulation or administrative action agricultural or forestry tractors with in the Member States (Official Journal, pneumatic tyres and two axles and