Opinion of Mr Advocate General Cruz Vilaça delivered on 21 October 1987. # Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic. # Failure of a Member State to fulfil its obligations - Dangerous substances. # Case 429/85.

Opinion of the Advocate-General

++++

Mr President,

Members of the Court,

1 . My opinion in this case is straightforward and can only be favourable to the Commission' s argument, the substance of which is, moreover, not challenged by the Italian Republic .

2 . It is sufficient to refer to the judgment of 14 October 1987 in Case 278/75 in which a similar complaint made against the Kingdom of Denmark was held to be well founded .

3 . The fact that the Italian Republic' s administrative practice in applying the contested national legislation complies with the requirements of Directive 79/831, on which the Italian Republic relies, does not, as the Court has consistently held, remedy the breach of obligations arising from the maintenance in force of a provision contrary to Community law .

4 . The Italian Government has not yet adopted the legislation which it has announced and which will transpose fully and properly that part of the directive into national law .

5 . I therefore propose that the Court should declare that by extending to importers the exemption from the obligation to give notice laid down in Article 6 of Council Directive 79/831/EEC of 18 September 1979 amending for the sixth time Directive 67/548/EEC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the classification, packaging and labelling of dangerous substances, the Italian Republic has failed to fulfil its obligations under the first indent of Article 8 ( 1 ) of the directive in question . The Italian Republic should consequently be ordered to pay the costs .

(*) Translated from the Portuguese .

Ad/de/Ly