EC Enforcement Procedures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

EC Enforcement Procedures - Essay Example Directive 2008/999/EC issued by the Council is regulated by Article 249 of the Treaty Establishing the European Community. The manner in which Article 249 applies to Directives is contained in the following excerpt from Article 249: Article 249 is similarly applicable to Council decisions with the result that the Council’s Directive and decision under Article 226 are both bindings on the UK and Germany. Failure to comply with the instructions to implement the Directive into local law by the time stipulated for doing so constitutes an infringement capable of invoking Article 228’s judicial process for the implementation of sanctions. Likewise, a failure to comply with the Council’s opinion under Article 226 automatically invokes Article 228’s judicial proceedings for the implementation of sanctions.5 Cumulatively, Articles 211 and Article 249 not only ensures that EC laws are adapted and applied throughout the EC Community but also imposes upon the Commission a residual duty to ensure that EC laws are implemented by the Member States. In the Commission of the European Communities v French Republic Case C-177/04 a scenario arose similar in nature to the one involving Germany and the UK. In this case, France had implemented an EC Directive on damages for product liability but had failed to reflect the actual extent of damages prescribed by the Directive. The Commission invoked Article 226 of the EC Treaty and issued a reasoned opinion in which it found that France had not fulfilled its Treaty obligations and required that it do so.  Ã‚