Case C-33/05, Commission v Belgium

Belgium has also been found to be in breach of the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC) following another judgement of the ECJ presented on 15 December 2005, in the case of Commission v Belgium (Case C-33/05).

Again the Court considered the situation at the end of the period provided for within the Reasoned Opinion.

By this time the measures intended to ensure transposition of the Directive within the Brussels region had not been adopted. Further, Belgium had failed to show that the international agreement on the Scheldt or the Ministerial Decree of April 2005 ensured the full application of the Directive.

Administrative practices could also not be said to adequately transpose the Directive. The Court therefore held that the arguments of the Commission were well founded and therefore held Belgium to be in breach of the Directive by failing to adopt all the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to give effect to the Directive.

The full judgement of the case is available in French here.

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