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URL: http://www.bailii.org/eu/cases/EUECJ/2006/C4605.html
Cite as: [2006] ECR I-34, [2006] EUECJ C-46/05, [2006] EUECJ C-46/5

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JUDGMENT OF THE COURT (Sixth Chamber) 23 February 2006 (*)

(Failure of a Member State to fulfil obligations -" Directive 2000/79/EC -" Working conditions -" Organisation of working time -" Mobile workers in civil aviation -" Failure to transpose within the prescribed period)

In Case C-46/05,

ACTION under Article 226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 7 February 2005,

Commission of the European Communities, represented by N. Yerrell, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,

applicant,

Ireland, represented by D. O'Hagan, acting as Agent, with an address for service in Luxembourg,

defendant,

THE COURT (Sixth Chamber),

composed of J. Malenovský, President of the Chamber, A. Borg Barthet (Rapporteur) and A. �" Caoimh, Judges,

Advocate General: J. Kokott,

Registrar: R. Grass,

having regard to the written procedure,

having decided, after hearing the Advocate General, to proceed to judgment without an Opinion,

gives the following

Judgment

By its application, the Commission of the European Communities requests the Court to declare that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 2000/79/EC of 27 November 2000 concerning the European Agreement on the Organisation of Working Time of Mobile Workers in Civil Aviation concluded by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the International Air Carrier Association (IACA) (OJ 2000 L 302, p. 57), or by failing to ensure that management and labour have introduced the necessary measures by agreement or by failing to inform the Commission of the measures taken, Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.

Article 3 of Directive 2000/79 provides that Member States were to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with that directive not later than 1 December 2003 or were to ensure that, by that date at the latest, management and labour had introduced the necessary measures by agreement. That article adds that Member States are to take any necessary measure to enable them at any time to be in a position to guarantee the results imposed by that directive and that they are forthwith to inform the Commission thereof.

Not having received any information regarding the provisions adopted by Ireland to ensure transposition of Directive 2000/79 within the prescribed period, the Commission instituted the procedure for failure to fulfil obligations laid down in the first paragraph of Article 226 EC. After having given Ireland an opportunity to submit its observations, the Commission, by letter of 9 July 2004, sent a reasoned opinion to that Member State calling on it to adopt the measures necessary to comply with that opinion within two months of its notification. As the information given by Ireland to the Commission in response to that opinion showed that the directive had still not been transposed, the Commission decided to bring this action.

Ireland acknowledges that it failed to adopt the provisions necessary to comply with Directive 2000/79 before expiry of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion. However, it raises as a defence to the action brought by the Commission a draft statutory instrument intended to transpose that directive into national law. That draft, which has been the subject of discussions with the occupational sector concerned, is being drafted by the Department of Transport.

In that regard, it is to be noted that, according to settled case-law, the question of whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation obtaining in the Member State at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion and that the Court cannot take account of any subsequent changes (see, inter alia, Case C-323/01 Commission v Italy [2002] ECR I-4711, paragraph 8, and Case C-103/00 Commission v Greece [2002] ECR I-1147, paragraph 23).

In this case, it is common ground that, at the expiry of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion, the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to transpose Directive 2000/79 into Irish law had not yet been adopted.

In those circumstances, the Commission's application must be held to be well founded.

Consequently, it must be held that, by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Directive 2000/79, Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive.

Costs

Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the successful party's pleadings. Since the Commission has applied for costs and Ireland has been unsuccessful, Ireland must be ordered to pay the costs.

On those grounds, the Court (Sixth Chamber) hereby:

1. Declares that by failing to adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with Council Directive 2000/79/EC of 27 November 2000 concerning the European Agreement on the Organisation of Working Time of Mobile Workers in Civil Aviation concluded by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), the European Transport Workers' Federation (ETF), the European Cockpit Association (ECA), the European Regions Airline Association (ERA) and the International Air Carrier Association (IACA), Ireland has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;

2. Orders Ireland to pay the costs.

[Signatures]

* Language of the case: English.