Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium. (Member States) [1995] EUECJ C-216/94 (13 July 1995)

Judgment 1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 26 July 1994, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action under Article 169 of the EC Treaty for a declaration that, by not adopting within the prescribed period and, in the alternative, by not notifying to the Commission, the measures necessary to comply with Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years' duration (OJ 1989 L 19, p. 16; "the directive"), the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty. 2 The main purpose of the directive is to establish a general system for the recognition of diplomas in all Member States. The first paragraph of Article 12 requires Member States to take the measures necessary to comply with the directive within two years of its notification and to inform the Commission thereof forthwith. That period expired on 4 January 1991. 3 Having received no notification of national measures implementing the directive, and having no other information to show that the Kingdom of Belgium had proceeded to implement it, the Commission put the Belgian Government on formal notice by letter of 28 June 1991 to present its observations within two months. 4 The Belgian Government requested and obtained a one-month extension of that period, and then replied, in a letter of 14 October 1991, that a series of provisions was in preparation in order to enable the directive to be implemented. 5 In the absence of any further information, the Commission delivered a reasoned opinion to the Belgian Government on 6 November 1992, pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 169 of the Treaty, to the effect that, by not adopting the measures for implementing the directive within the prescribed period and/or by not notifying them to the Commission, the Kingdom of Belgium had failed to fulfil its Community obligations. The Commission requested Belgium to take the necessary measures in order to comply with the opinion within two months. 6 That opinion remained unanswered, whereupon the Commission brought this action. 7 The Belgian Government lodged its defence at the Court Registry on 27 September 1994, attaching the text of the Law of 29 April 1994 (Moniteur Belge, 20 July 1994), which enables the King to take measures, by order debated in cabinet, to implement the obligations arising from the directive. In the Government' s submission, that Law has implemented the directive in Belgian law. It adds, however, that implementing measures have been taken in some sectors, whilst other measures have yet to be adopted. 8 The Commission considers, first, that since the Law of 29 April 1994 contains nothing more than an enablement for measures implementing the directive to be taken, it cannot itself constitute sufficient implementation. In any event, it was not notified to the Commission until 22 September 1994, after the expiry of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion. 9 The Commission then points out that the Belgian Government itself acknowledges that measures necessary for implementing the directive have not yet been adopted in all sectors. In any event, no measures for putting the Law of 29 April 1994 into effect have been notified to the Commission. 10 It appears from the file that on 4 January 1991, the expiry date of the period for implementing the directive, the Kingdom of Belgium had not yet taken any measures to put it into effect. 11 In those circumstances, the declaration sought by the Commission must be granted. 12 The Court must therefore declare that, by not adopting within the prescribed period the measures necessary to comply with the directive, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its Treaty obligations. Costs 1 13 Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs. Since the defendant has been unsuccessful, it must be ordered to pay the costs. On those grounds, THE COURT (Sixth Chamber) hereby declares: 1. By not adopting within the prescribed period the measures necessary to comply with Council Directive 89/48/EEC of 21 December 1988 on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years' duration, the Kingdom of Belgium has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty; 2. The Kingdom of Belgium is ordered to pay the costs. © European Communities, 2001 All rights reserved BAILII: Copyright Policy | Disclaimers | Privacy Policy | Feedback | Donate to BAILII