Italy has failed to comply with its obligation to put in place measures to prevent the spread of the Xylella fastidiosa bacterium, which can cause the death of many plants. This is the judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union on Thursday 5 September in the case (C-443/18) between the European Commission and Italy concerning measures to fight the ‘olive killer’ bacterium (see EUROPE B12139A8).
On 17 May 2018, the Commission decided to refer Italy to the Court on the grounds...