Opinion of the Advocate-General
A - Introduction
1 In the present proceedings brought against the Italian Republic for failure to fulfil obligations, the Commission requests the Court to:
1. declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Commission Directive 94/2/EC (1) of 21 January 1994 implementing Council Directive 92/75/EEC with regard to energy labelling of household electric refrigerators, freezers and their combinations, or at least by failing to notify those measures, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;
2. order the Italian Republic to pay the costs.
B - Analysis
2 Member States were required under Article 4 of Directive 94/2/EC to adopt and publish the provisions necessary to comply with the Directive by 31 December 1994 and forthwith to inform the Commission thereof. Those provisions were to be applied from 1 January 1995.
3 It is common ground that those provisions were not adopted.
4 In its defence, the Italian Government submits that the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to transpose the basic Council Directive 92/75/EEC (2) of 22 September 1992 on the indication by labelling and standard product information of the consumption of energy and other resources by household appliances have not yet been adopted in domestic law, and that consequently it has also not been possible to adopt the implementing provisions.
5 Under Article 14 of Directive 92/75/EEC, the necessary laws, regulations and administrative provisions were to be adopted by 1 July 1993 in order that the provisions could become applicable by 1 January 1994 at the latest.
6 Failure to ensure the transposition of the basic provisions cannot provide justification for a subsequent failure to fulfil obligations in regard to the transposition of implementing provisions. The Commission's action must for that reason be treated as well founded.
Costs
7 The unsuccessful party must be ordered to pay the costs in accordance with Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
C - Conclusion
8 I propose that the Court rule as follows:
(1) By failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Commission Directive 94/2/EC of 21 January 1994 implementing Council Directive 92/75/EEC with regard to energy labelling of household electric refrigerators, freezers and their combinations, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;
(2) The Italian Republic is ordered to pay the costs of the proceedings.
(1) - OJ 1994 L 45, p. 1.
(2) - OJ 1992 L 297, p. 16.
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy