C-381/92
ECLI:EU:C:1993:902
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OPINION OF MR TESAURO — CASE C-381/92
OPINION OF MR ADVOCATE GENERAL TESAURO delivered on 18 November 1993 *
Mr President, into Ireland are effected in conformity with Members of the Court, the requirements laid down in the directives in question.
1. By application received at the Court on 21 October 1992 the Commission requests the Court to declare that, by failing to adopt within the prescribed period the measures necessary to comply with Council Directive 88/407/EEC of 14 June 1988 laying down As regards Directive 88/658/EEC, Ireland animal health requirements applicable to maintains, firstly, that it has in any event intra-Community trade in and imports of ensured its transposition into internal law by deep-frozen semen, of domestic animals of means of administrative measures, and more l the bovine species, with Council Directive particularly instructions to the competent 2 90/120/EEC of 5 March 1990 amending officials, measures which, moreover, were Directive 88/407/EEC and with Council notified to the Commission on 7 June 1991, Directive 88/658/EEC of 14 December and, secondly, that that directive is no longer 1988 amending Directive 77/99/EEC on in force, having been replaced by Directive health problems affecting intra-Community 92/5/EEC, 4 which entered into force on trade in meat products, 3Ireland has failed to 1 January 1993, with the result that in this fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty. respect it can no longer be charged with any failure to fulfil its Treaty obligations.
2. As regards Directives 88/407/EEC and 90/120/EEC, Ireland confines itself to justi fying its failure to transpose them into national law within the prescribed period on the ground of the complexity of the legisla tive amendments to be adopted and stresses 3. It does not seem to me that those argu that the implementing measures should enter ments, put forward, truth to tell, with little into force very shortly and that in any event conviction, can be upheld. As regards the they are in practice already applied, given implementation of directives by means of that imports of deep-frozen bovine semen administrative practices or measures, it is sufficient here to recall that the Court has consistently held that 'mere administrative practices, which by their nature are alterable * Original language: Italian. 1 — OJ 1988 L 194, p. 10. 2 — Council Directive of 5 March 1990 amending Directivi 88/407/EEC which lays down animal health requirement applicable to intra-Community trade in and imports of deep 4 — Council Directive of 10 February 1992 amending and updat frozen semen of domestic animals of the bovine species (O ing Directive 77/99/EEC on health problems affecting intra- 1990 L 71, p. 37). Community trade in meat products and amending Directive 3 — OJ 1988 L 382, p. 15. 64/433/EEC (OJ 1992 L 57, p. 1).
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at will by the authorities and are not given tive, I would point out, as the Commission the appropriate publicity, cannot be regarded has done, that Directive 92/5/EEC did not as constituting the proper fulfilment of a abolish the obligations under the directive in Member State's obligations under the question, but merely updated them. It fol 5 Treaty'. lows that only the actual transposition of Directive 92/5/EEC could have caused the failure to fulfil obligations with which Ire As regards, next, the fact that Directive land is charged by the present action for fail 88/658/EEC has, since 1 January 1993, no ure to implement Directive 88/658/EEC to longer been in force and that it is contended be regarded as remedied. that, consequently, Ireland cannot be charged 4. In those circumstances, I propose there with any failure to fulfil obligations on fore that the Court allow the application and account of its failure to transpose that direc order the defendant State to pay the costs.
5 — Judgment of 17 November 1992 in Case C-236/91 Commis- sion v Ireland [1992] ECR I-5933, paragraph 6. See also the judgment of 2 August 1993 in Case C-9/92 Commission v Hellenic Republic, not yet published in the ECR, para graph 20.
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