Important legal notice

61997C0284

European Court reports 1998 Page I-06091

Opinion of the Advocate-General

6. In its application the Commission points out that since, according to settled case-law, the Member States to whom a directive is addressed are obliged to bring their domestic legislation into line with the provisions of that directive within the period prescribed therein and may not plead provisions, practices or circumstances existing in their internal legal systems in order to justify a failure to comply with the obligations and time-limits laid down in Community directives, the defendant State has failed to fulfil its obligations under the Directive inasmuch as on expiry of the period prescribed by the Directive it had not adopted any measures to implement the provisions thereof.

(1) declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 93/40/EEC of 14 June 1993 amending Directives 81/851/EEC and 81/852/EEC on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to veterinary medicinal products, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;

(2) order the French Republic to pay the costs.

(1) - OJ 1993 L 214, p. 31.

(2) - See, most recently, Joined Cases C-232/95 and C-233/95 Commission v Greece [1998] ECR I-3343.