Commission of the European Communities v. United Kingdom

Council Directive 80/778/EEC stipulated the maximum permissible concentration of nitrate in water for human consumption and required member states to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to ensure compliance with those provisions within a specific period of time. The Commission instituted proceedings under the EEC Treaty Art. 169 for a declaration that the United Kingdom had failed to implement the Directive because water supplied in a number of supply zones throughout the UK contained levels of nitrate which exceeded the permitted amounts. The UK Government contended that the Directive did not impose an obligation to achieve an objective but merely required member states to take all practical steps to comply with the standards laid down, and argued that the failure to reduce the concentration of nitrate to a permissible level was due to matters beyond its control, namely the effect of techniques used in agriculture. The Court decided that the Directive required member states to ensure that certain results were achieved, and, except within the limits of certain derogations laid down in the Directive, they could not rely on special circumstances to justify the failure to discharge that obligation. The effect of agricultural techniques on nitrate levels was not a ground for derogation from the provisions of the Directive and, accordingly, the UK had failed to fulfill its obligations under the EEC Treaty.