C-343/97

O P I N I O N OF MR LA PERGOLA — CASE C-343/97

O P I N I O N O F ADVOCATE GENERAL LA PERGOLA delivered on 5 May 1998 *

1. By application lodged on 1 October 1997, dom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obliga- the Commission requested the Court to tions. declare that, by failing to adopt within the prescribed period the measures necessary to comply with Council Directive 90/220/EEC 2. The defendant Member State does not of 23 April 1990 on the deliberate release deny the infringement alleged against it, but into the environment of genetically modified simply observes that the measures intended organisms 1 and Commission Directive to bring national law into line with those 94/51/EC of 7 November 1994 adapting to directives are in the process of being technical progress Council Directive adopted. According to the settled case-law of 90/219/EEC on the contained use of geneti- the Court, however, this cannot justify a fail- cally modified micro-organisms, 2 the King- ure to fulfil obligations. 3

3. I therefore propose that the Court uphold the application and order the defen- dant State to pay the costs.

* Original language: Italian. 3 — See, among others, Case C-147/94 Commission v Spain 1 — OJ 1990 L 117, p. 15. [1995] ECR I-1015. 2 — OJ 1994 L 297, p. 29.

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