OPINION OF ADVOCATE GENERAL

delivered on 20 June 1996 (*1)

1.By an application lodged on 16 March 1995, the Commission asks the Court to declare that by failing to adopt within the prescribed period the measures necessary to comply with the directives listed below, the Kingdom of Spain has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty:

—Council Directive 89/391/EEC of 12 June 1989 on the introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the health and safety of workers at work; (1)

—Council Directive 89/654/EEC of 30 November 1989 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the workplace (first individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC); (2)

—Council Directive 89/655/EEC of 30 November 1989 concerning the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work (second individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC); (3)

—Council Directive 89/656/EEC of 30 November 1989 on the minimum health and safety requirements for the use by workers of personal protective equipment at the workplace (third individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC); (4)

—Council Directive 90/269/EEC of 29 May 1990 on the minimum health and safety requirements for the manual handling of loads where there is a risk particularly of back injury to workers (fourth individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC); (5)

—Council Directive 90/270/EEC of 29 May 1990 on the minimum health and safety requirements for work with display screen equipment (fifth individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC); (6)

—Council Directive 90/394/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the protection of workers from the risks related to exposure to carcinogens at work (sixth individual directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC). (7)

2.The Kingdom of Spain has made it known during the course of the proceedings that it has in the meantime taken measures to transpose Directive 89/391/EEC. The Commission has taken formal notice of that transposition and has, accordingly, informed the Court that it wishes, pursuant to Article 78 of the Rules of Procedure, to discontinue that part of the action concerning the alleged breach of Directive 89/391/EEC.

3.It is sufficient to note that the Kingdom of Spain does not deny the infringement arising from its failure to transpose Directives 89/654/EEC, 89/655/EEC, 89/656/EEC, 90/269/EEC, 90/270/EEC and 90/394/EEC. In its observations it merely stated that measures to transpose those directives into national law are being adopted. According to the settled case-law of the Court, (8) that cannot justify the failure to comply with its obligations.

Conclusion

I therefore propose that the Court should uphold the application in so far as it relates to breach of Directives 89/654/EEC, 89/655/EEC, 89/656/EEC, 90/269/EEC, 90/270/EEC and 90/394/EEC and order the defendant State to pay the costs, in accordance with Article 69(2) and (5) of the Rules of Procedure.

(*1) Original language: Italian.

(1) OJ 1989 L 183, p. 1.

(2) OJ 1989 L 393, p. 1.

(3) OJ 1989 L 393, p. 13.

(4) OJ 1989 L 393, p. 18.

(5) OJ 1990 L 156, p. 9.

(6) OJ 1990 L 156, p. 14.

(7) OJ 1990 L 196, p. 1.

(8) Sec, ex multis, Case C-147/94 Commission v Spain [1995] ECR I-1015.