Opinion of the Advocate-General
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Mr President,
Members of the Court,
1 . In the present proceedings for failure to fulfil obligations the Commission of the European Communities, the applicant, seeks a declaration that by failing to adopt within the prescribed period the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 82/470/EEC of 29 June 1982 on measures to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom of establishment and freedom to provide services in respect of activities of self-employed persons in certain services incidental to transport and travel agencies ( ISIC Group 718 ) and in storage and warehousing ( ISIC Group 720 ), ( 1 ) the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive and under the third paragraph of Article 189 and the first paragraph of Article 5 of the EEC Treaty .
2 . Article 8 of the directive provides that the Member States are to adopt the measures necessary to comply with the directive within 18 months of its notification and must forthwith inform the Commission thereof . That period expired on 2 January 1984 .
3 . The defendant does not deny that the requisite measures have not been adopted in Belgium in order to comply with the directive within the prescribed period .
4 . Although we have today heard at the hearing that implementing measures in respect of part of the directive have in the mean time been adopted by way of a Royal Decree, there is no doubt that that was not done within the prescribed period .
5 . I therefore propose that the Court should rule as follows :
"( 1 ) By failing to adopt within the prescribed period the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 82/470/EEC of 29 June 1982 the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EEC Treaty .
( 2 ) The Kingdom of Belgium shall pay the costs of the proceedings ."
(*) Translated from the German .
( 1 ) OJ 1982, L 213, p . 1 .
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