Judgment
1 By application lodged at the Court Registry on 21 November 1991, the Commission of the European Communities brought an action pursuant to Article 169 of the EEC Treaty for a declaration that by failing to communicate the laws, regulationsand administrative provisions by which it considers itself to have fulfilled its obligations under Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products (OJ 1985 L 210, p. 29), or by failing to adopt the measures necessary to comply therewith, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive and under the Treaty.
2 The French Government acknowledges that, by the expiry of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion, it had not yet implemented the abovementioned directive.
3 In those circumstances, the Commission's submissions concerning the failure to fulfil obligations must be upheld.
COMMISSION v FRANCE
Costs
4 Under Article 69(2) of the Rules of Procedure, the unsuccessful party is to be ordered to pay the costs. Since the French Republic has been unsuccessful, it must be ordered to pay the costs.
On those grounds,
THE COURT
hereby:
1. Declares that, by failing to communicate the laws, regulations and administrative provisions by which it considers itself to have fulfilled its obligations under Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products (OJ 1985 L 210, p. 29), or by failing to adopt the measures necessary to comply therewith, the French Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the directive and under the Treaty;
2. Orders the French Republic to pay the costs.
Kakouris Zuleeg Murray Mancini
Schockweiler Moitinho de Almeida Grévisse
Diez de Velasco Kapteyn
Delivered in open court in Luxembourg on 13 January 1993.
