JUDGMENT OF 21. 6. 1973 — CASE 79/72 COMMISSION v ITALIAN REPUBLIC

In Case 79/72

THE COURT composed of: R. Lecourt, President, R. Monaco and P. Pescatore, Presidents of Chambers, A. M. Donner (Rapporteur), J. Mertens de Wilmars, H. Kutscher, C. Ó Dálaigh, M. Sørensen and A. J. Mackenzie Stuart, Judges, Advocate-General: K. Roemer Registrar: A. Van Houtte

gives the following

JUDGMENT

Issues of fact and of law

I — Facts and procedure

II — Submissions

III — Pleas and arguments

Grounds of judgment

Costs

I —. Facts and procedure

(a). to establish, for the various genera and species of reproductive material, a list of the basic material officially approved in their territories;

(b). to delimit the regions of provenance for reproductive material;

(c). to provide that reproductive material is to be identified according to precise criteria laid down by the Directive and is to be marketed according to specific rules;

(d). to ensure that, as regards the genetic characters of the basic material and the measures taken for its source-identification, reproductive material is subject to no marketing restrictions other than those laid down in the Directive.

(a). not later than 1 July 1969 for seeds and part of plants (the list follows)

(b). …

II —. Submissions

(a). declare that the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under Article 18 (1) (a) of the Council Directive of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of forest reproductive material.

(b). order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.

III —. Pleas and arguments

1. By an application filed at the Registry on 8 December 1972, the Commission, by virtue of Article 169 of the EEC Treaty brought before the Court an action seeking to establish that the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty by not bringing into force the laws, regulations, or administrative provisions necessary to comply with the provisions of Council Directive 66/404/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing of forest reproductive material (OJ 125, p. 2326) within the time limit prescribed in Article 18 of that Directive, as amended by Council Directive 69/64/EEC of 18 February 1969 (OJ 1969, L 48, 12).

2. Having found that the discrepancies existing between national regulations aiming to promote the utilisation of superior forest reproductive material constituted an obstacle to trade between Member States, the Counil, by a Directive of 14 June 1966, sought to establish common rules imposing common standards in relation to marketing both in other Member States and on domestic markets.

3. The defendant admits the failure to observe these time limits.

4. From the time Directive 66/404/EEC was passed, all the Member States knew that, for the first group of seeds and parts of plants, they were bound to bring into effect the necessary measures at the latest by 1 July 1967.

5. The defendant cannot invoke, to justifiy its conduct, obstacles or circumstances which arose at a time largely subsequent to that of the obligation which it is accused of not having fulfilled.

6. At the hearing, the defendant again claimed that in any event it is a question of the non-observance of a directive, and submitted that the provisions of a directive cannot be accorded the same binding force as those of a Regulation.

7. By Article 189 of the Treaty, a directive shall be binding as to the result to be achieved upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but leaves to the national authorities the choice of form and methods.

8. It follows that by failing to adopt the provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 66/404 on the marketing of forest reproductive material within the prescribed time limit, as amended by Directive 69/64, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty.

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

On those grounds, Upon reading the pleadings; Upon hearing the report of the Judge-Rapporteur; Upon hearing the oral observations of the parties; Upon hearing the opinion of the Advocate-General; Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, especially Articles 169, 171 and 189; Having regard to Council Directives 66/404/EEC and 69/64/EEC; Having regard to the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Economic Community; Having regard to the Rules of Procedure of the Court of Justice of the European Communities; THE COURT hereby:

1 Declares that the Italian Republic, by failing to adopt the provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 66/404 on the marketing of forest reproductive material within the prescribed time limit, as amended by Directive 69/64, has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Treaty;

2 Orders the defendant to pay the costs.