Monitoring of the application of Community law. 13th annual report 1995

In adopting the report by Mrs Anne-Marie SCHAFFNER (UPE, F) on monitoring the application of Community law, Parliament expressed its concern that some Member States deliberately do not transpose directives. It noted a particularly unsatisfactory transposition rate in the environment, transport, energy and agriculture sectors as regards directives adopted in the framework of the internal market. It regretted the fact that 93 judgments had not been implemented by the Member States and urged the Commission to follow them up. Parliament also stressed the need for greater transparency in Community law. It reiterated, therefore, the priority it attached to the fact that directives adopted should be consistent with the subsidiarity principle and should also be clear and concise. There should also be greater transparency in infringement proceedings. It called for the Commission to draw up, with regard to the Union's external economic and trade relations, a specific annual report assessing the degree of application of Community law deriving from external commitments. It called on the Commission to ensure that complaints and petitions were dealt with more rapidly by exercising more stringent control over the deadlines for replies from Member States. Similarly, Parliament welcomed the 'Citizens of Europe' initiative which would involve the publication of a practical guide for citizens which reflected the case law of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance. It stressed the importance of including in it a specific section dealing with the means of redress for citizens with regard to their rights. Lastly, it encouraged the Commission to continue the programmes which seek to improve national civil servants' understanding of Community law (Karolus and Mathaeus programmes) and that of legal practitioners (Grotius programme and Robert Schuman project). �