C-363/85

Mr President, 4. Article 2 of Directive 79/373 itself incor- Members of the Court, porates the same definitions of the expressions 'animals', 'pet animals' and 'compound feedingstuffs' as Directive 80/502. I— 1. The Commission has asked the Court for a declaration that the Iulian Government has failed to adopt all the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary fully to implement Article 1 (3) of HI — 5. It is not contested that the Italian Council Directive 80/502/EEC of 6 May Republic failed to adopt within the period 1980 amending Directive 74/63/EEC on prescribed by Directive 80/502, that is to the fixing of maximum permitted levels for say at the latest by 1 July 1981, specific undesirable substances and products in feed- measures to implement that directive. In that ingstuffs, and hence has failed to fulfil its connection, it has indicated that a draft law obligations under Articles 5 and 189 of the has been put before the Italian Parliament EEC Treaty. to secure the formal incorporation into Italian law of the definitions set out in the aforementioned Article 1 (3). 2. More specifically, the Italian Republic is charged with having failed to transpose into national law the Community definitions of the following expressions: 'animals', 'pet 6. The Italian Government considers that it animals' and 'compound feedingstuffs'. has not failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty in that respect and asserts that, even if those definitions are not formally set out in its national legislation, it is possible II— 3. Directive 74/63 constitutes, to infer from the national legislation the together with Council Directive intended uses of the feedingstuffs (for 70/524/EEC of 23 November 1970 animals and pet animals) and the charac- concerning additives in feedingstuffs and teristics of compound feedingstuffs. As a Council Directive 79/373 of 2 April 1979 result, the Italian law of 15 February 1963, on the marketing of compound feeding- as amended in 1968 (hereinafter referred to stuffs, a 'coherent system' whose as 'the Italian law"), which is currently in force, already serves to implement Article 1 (3). 'common objective... is to increase agri- cultural productivity by promoting the quality of animal production by means of the use of "appropriate good-quality feed- IV — 7. Accordingly, it must be established ingstuffs" '. ' whether the Italian legislation antedating the Community directive is such as to secure * Translated from the French. the implementation of the directive. In order 1 — Judgment of 3 October 1985 in Cise 28/84 Commiuum v to do so, it is necessary to assess the FtJtral Reputile of Germany [1985] ECR 3097, paragraph 12. relevant national provisions. In its judgment

12. In view of the aim of protecting animal provided that the 'full application' of the and human health which is pursued by directive is in fact guaranteed. Directives 74/63 and 80/502, the failure to make that distinction constitutes, as the Commission rightly maintains, a failure on 8. Consequently, the pre-existing Italian the part of the defendant Member State to legislation may satisfy Community fulfil its obligations. requirements in so far as it already enabled the objective pursued by Directive 80/502 to be attained, even if the exact wording of that directive was not reproduced therein. 3 13. As for 'compound feedingstuffs', it must be held that the definition given in the Italian law is narrower than that set out V — 9. Does a comparison of Article 1 (3) in the directive. The directive defines of Directive 80/502 with Article 1 of the compound feedingstuffs as 'organic or Italian law which contains the comparable inorganic substances in mixtures, whether or definitions reveal that the Community rules not containing additives, for oral animal have been satisfactorily implemented? feeding in the form of complete feeding- stuffs or complementary feedingstuffs' whereas the Italian law defines the term as meaning 'preparations obtained by appro- 10. As regards the definition of the term priately combining two or more straight 'animals' set out in Article 1 (3) (f), I feedingstuffs', without mentioning products consider that the Italian Government has of mineral origin and additives or not, as the Commission claims, failed to complementary feedingstuffs. fulfil its obligations. The Italian law applies 'to products . . . intended for feeding to livestock',* which is a general category which covers the class which the directive 14. Admittedly, the Italian law does not defines under the term 'animals'. preclude the possibility of using all those ingredients but they are not included in the Italian definition of 'compound feeding- 11. If I may now-turn to 'pet animals', these stuffs'. necessarily constitute an individual class of 'animals' within the meaning of the directive whose essential characteristic is that its 15. Given that the definition in question is a 2 — Judgment of 23 May 1985 in Case 29/84 Commission v Community definition, it must be set out in Federal Republic of Germany [1985] ECR 1661, paragraph the legislation of all the Member States. It 23. follows that, in that respect too, the Italian 3 — Judgment of 26 October 1983 in Case 163/82 Commission v Italian Republic [1983] ECR 3273, paragraphs 9 and 10. Republic must be held to have failed to fulfil 4 — My emphasis. its obligations.