Report for the Hearing delivered in Case 364/85

I — Facts and procedure

1. The legal framework

Council Directive 64/432/EEC of 26 June 1964 on animal health problems affecting intra-Community trade in bovine animals and swine aims to bring about the approximation of Member States' animal health provisions. Under Article 36 of the Treaty, the Member States may maintain prohibitions or restrictions on imports or goods in transit which are justified on grounds of the protection of human or animal health and life. Directive 64/432 is intended to approximate the provisions on which those prohibitions and restrictions are based, in so far as the differences between those provisions hinder the implementation and functioning of the common agricultural policy.

In 1980 the Council adopted several amendments to Directive No 64/432, dealing with specific diseases. The following directives in particular are involved:

The directives require the Member States to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary in order to comply with the directives by the dates mentioned therein and to inform the Commission immediately that they have so complied.

2. Background to the case

Since it had received no communication from the Italian Republic about the measures taken to transpose the directives into national law and also had no information suggesting that the Italian Republic had fulfilled its obligation to put into force the requisite legislation, the Commission sent to the Italian authorities on 22 December 1983 a letter informing them that it considered that the Italian Republic had failed to fulfil its obligations under the directives in question and asking them, pursuant to Article 169 of the Treaty, to submit observations within a period of two months. By telex message dated 18 October 1984 the Italian Permanent Representative notified the Commission that preliminary draft legislation intended to implement the directives in question had been forwarded on 6 June 1983 to the legislation department of the Italian Ministry of Health. Since it received no further communication the Commission delivered a reasoned opinion on 7 June 1985. No reply was received.

Under the second paragraph of Article 169 of the Treaty the Commission brought before the Court the matter of the alleged failure of the Italian Republic to fulfil its obligations.

3. Procedure

The Commission's application was registered at the Court on 25 November 1985.

The written procedure followed its normal course; however, the Commission did not lodge a reply.

Upon hearing the report of the Judge-Rapporteur and the views of the Advocate General the Court decided to open the oral procedure without any preparatory inquiry. Nevertheless, it asked the Italian Government to inform it in writing whether the draft law to which it referred had since been adopted.

II — Conclusions of the parties

The applicant claims that the Court should:

The defendant has made no claim.

III — Submissions and arguments of the parties

The Commission observes that the communication from the Italian Permanent Representative, stating that the Italian authorities were in the course of preparing the measures necessary to comply with the directives in question, proves that the Italian Republic had not adopted the measures laid down in the directives on the dates prescribed.

The Italian Government explains in its defence that the draft law for the transposition into national law of the three directives in question has been submitted to the Parliament of the Italian Republic and is at present before the Senate.

In reply to the Court's question, the Italian Government, by letter of 27 August 1986, states that it hopes that the parliamentary procedure will be completed rapidly and reserves the right to provide any additional information before the parties are called to the sitting, which is scheduled to take place on 4 November 1986.

1 Language of the Case: Italian.