Luxembourg, 20/12/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 15 December, the last day the European Court of Justice could issue rulings this year before the holidays, rulings were issued in a dozen cases where Member States were found guilty of falling to correct apply EU directives. Most are short, simple rulings of no more than a page, where Member States admit guilt, and they will be included in the 2005 Court of Justice statistics (see EUROPE 8897 on 2004, described by the court as its most productive ever).
Ireland has been found guilty of failing to send fish species and catches statistics by e-mail for 1999-2000. The Irish government informed the Commission its new integrated database would be up and running at the start of 2005 but the Commission says it has still not received the figures.
Luxembourg has been found guilty of falling to transpose Directive 2001/65/EC on annual and consolidated accounts for various types of company and banks. The government said the rules had been transposed in practice and official transposition was on the way.
Greece has been found guilty in three separate rulings of failing to transpose Directives 2002/19, 2002/20 and 2002/21 on universal service e-communications networks. Greece said that the March 2004 elections meant the vote on the draft law to transpose the EU rules into Greek law had to be postponed. Greece is also found guilty, like Luxembourg, of failing to transpose Directive 2001/65/EC on annual and consolidated accounts for various types of company and banks within the deadline. Greece says the directive will be adopted in the near future.
Belgium has been found guilty because the 'Region Bruxelles-Capitale' for which it is responsible under EU law, has failed to implement Directive 2000/60/EC on time, setting up an EU water policy. Belgium has failed to demonstrate that full application of the directive was ensured by the international Escaut agreement or a 2005 'arrete ministeriel' (law) setting out a programme for cutting water pollution from dangerous chemicals, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Belgium has also been found guilty of falling to transpose measures from Directive 2002/59/EC establishing an EU shipping monitoring system. The government says it will do its best to fully transpose the directive asap.
Finland has also failed to transpose the shipping monitoring directive. The government perkily admitted that the transposition process had been delayed and the Commission was right to take action.
Germany was late (2005) in transposing the water protection framework directive, missing the September 2004 deadline. Two months after the Commission sent Germany a reasoned opinion, Germany had still not fully transposed the directive in the Lander (regions) of Berlin, Hesse, Western Mecklemburg-Pomerania, North Rheinland Westphalien and Saxony-Anhalt.
Spain has been found guilty of failing to introduce a programme to cut pollution in shellfish beds in the Ria de Vigo in line with the 1979 water quality directive. Spain argued that Ria de Vigo was not a shellfish production area for human consumption and therefore the directive didn't apply.
Web-footed birds in Finland
Finland is expected to be found guilty of failing to prove, under the Wild Birds Directive, that its environmental policy for the province of Aland (the ruling is full of technical detail) that there were no satisfactory alternatives to hunting in the springtime to control the populations of certain web-footed birds like eider (of eiderdown fame) or the velvet scoter (black duck), or that the criterion of small quantities of hunted birds was being met. The ruling is expected to be issued before the end of the year because the reporting judge, Claus Gulmann, is about to leave the Court.