Opinion of Mr Advocate General Darmon delivered on 1 October 1986. # Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic. # Failure to adopt within the prescribed period the implementing measures provided for in directives on the marketing of straight feedingstuffs). # Case 365/85.

Opinion of the Advocate-General

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Mr President,

Members of the Court,

1 . This application for a declaration that Italy has failed to fulfil its obligations presents few difficulties . The failure is established and, moreover, is not contested by the defendant State .

Council Directives 77/101 and 79/372 and Commission Directives 79/797 and 80/510 concern the harmonization of national laws applicable to the marketing of animal feedingstuffs . The period for transposing those directives into national law expired on 1 January 1981 and the Member States were under a duty to inform the Commission forthwith of provisions adopted to that effect .

The Italian Republic has not yet adopted legal provisions implementing the directives, as was confirmed by the representative at the hearing .

2 . The Court has consistently held that :

"The governments of the Member States participate in the preparatory work for directives and must therefore be in a position to prepare, within the period prescribed, the draft legislative provisions necessary for their implementation"

( judgments in Cases 136, 148, 149 and 151/81 of 12 October 1982 ).

The transposition of directives in good time is mandatory . Since they concern the harmonization of national laws, any delay in adopting the laws or provisions necessary for their implementation constitutes a breach in the uniformity of application of Community law contrary to the fundamental rules laid down in Articles 5 and 189 of the EEC Treaty .

3 . Consequently, I propose that the Court should declare that, by failing to adopt the necessary provisions for the implementation of the abovementioned directives by 1 January 1981, Italy has failed to fulfil its Community obligations .

(*) Translated from the French .