C-64/01
ECLI:EU:C:2002:12
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OPINION OF MR LÉGER — CASE C-64/01
O P I N I O N O F ADVOCATE GENERAL LÉGER delivered on 10 January 2002 1
1. Pursuant to Article 226 EC the Com- 3. Since the Hellenic Republic failed to mission of the European Communities is notify the Commission of any measures asking the Court to declare that, by failing adopted in order to comply with the to adopt and, in the alternative, by failing Directive, the Commission requested it, in to notify to the Commission, within the letter of formal notice No SG (2000) period laid down, the laws, regulations and D/101634 of 18 February 2000, to submit administrative provisions necessary to its observations within a period of two comply fully with Council Directive months. 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concern- ing integrated pollution prevention and control, 2 the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty. The Commission also requests that the Hellenic Republic should be ordered to pay the costs.
4. The Hellenic authorities did not reply to the letter of formal notice within the time allowed, and the Commission therefore, by letter No SG (2000) D/105301 of 25 July 2000, sent them a reasoned opinion in which it repeated its observations con- tained in its letter of formal notice and called upon them to comply with the reasoned opinion within a period of two months. In the absence of any information on the transposition of the Directive, the 2. The Commission notes that the Directive Commission brought the present proceed- provides, in Article 21, that Member States ings for failure to fulfil obligations under are to adopt the laws, regulations and the Treaty. administrative provisions necessary to comply with the Directive no later than three years after its entry into force, that is by 30 October 1999, and that they are forthwith to inform the Commission thereof.
1 — Original language: French. 5. The Hellenic Republic contends that the 2 — OJ 1996 L 257, p. 26, 'the Directive'. Court should dismiss the present proceed- I - 2524
COMMISSION v GREECE
ings and order the Commission to pay the subsequent changes cannot be taken into costs. It points out that the Directive is account by the Court. 4 being transposed into national law in two stages. First, it is adopting an interministe- rial decision transposing Articles 1 to 3, 7, 11, 15, 16, 18 and 20 of the Directive. The final draft of that decision is to be sent to the Commission during April 2001. The other articles of the Directive, which are linked to Council Directive 97/11/EC of 3 March 1997 amending Directive 7. It is to be observed that, at the expiry of 85/337/EEC on the assessment of the the period laid down in the reasoned effects of certain public and private projects opinion, that is on 25 September 2000, on the environment, 3are to be transposed the measures necessary for the full trans- during the second stage, which is to be position of the Directive into domestic law completed before the end of 2001. had not been adopted, a fact which the Hellenic Republic does not, moreover, dispute.
8. Since the Directive was not transposed within the period laid down, the action brought by the Commission should be held The failure to fulfil obligations to be well founded.
9. Under Article 69(2) of the Court's Rules 6. It is settled case-law that the question of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be whether a Member State has failed to fulfil ordered to pay the costs if they have been its obligations must be determined by applied for in the successful party's plead- reference to the situation prevailing in the ings, which is the situation in the present Member State at the end of the period laid case. down in the reasoned opinion and that 4 — See, for example, Cases C-71/99 Commission v Germany [2001] ECR I-5811, paragraph 29, and C-110/00 Commis- 3 — OJ 1997 L 73, p. 5. sion v Austria [2001] ECR I-7545, paragraph 13.
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OPINION OF MR LÉGER — CASE C-64/01
Conclusion
10. Consequently, I propose that the Court should declare that:
(1) By failing to adopt, within the period laid down, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control, the Hellenic Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.
(2) The Hellenic Republic shall pay the costs.
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