Opinion of Mr Advocate General Tesauro delivered on 7 November 1996. # Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany. # Failure by a Member State to fulfil obligations - Directive 91/271/EEC - Urban waste water treatment. # Case C-297/95.

Opinion of the Advocate-General

1 By application lodged pursuant to Article 169 of the Treaty, the Commission requests the Court to declare that, by failing to adopt within the period prescribed the measures necessary to comply with Council Directive 91/271/EEC of 21 May 1991 concerning urban waste water treatment, (1) the Federal Republic of Germany has failed to fulfil its obligations under the EC Treaty.

In that connection, suffice it to note that the German Government does not deny the breach of which it is accused. Indeed, in its defence it acknowledged the delay in transposition, attributable to difficulties arising from the division of powers between the Laender and the central authorities, and declared that it intended to ensure that the directive in question would be transposed (at least in part) during 1996 at the latest.

2 I accordingly propose that the Court uphold the application and order the defendant State to pay the costs of the proceedings.

(1) - OJ 1991 L 135, p. 40.