ABSTRACT
The Community starts with the premise that the obligations which it imposes are intended to be obeyed. The Court has held that a Member State cannot properly plead the unlawfulness of a decision addressed to it as a defence to an action brought under Article 226 EC for a declaration that it has failed to fulfil its obligations by reason of its failure to implement that decision. The Commission did, however, accept that the absence of any surface water in the Brussels region intended for the production of drinking water was a defence to the Commission's claim that Belgium had failed to adopt the requisite measures to implement the surface water directives in that region. Likewise, the Community obligation imposed on national courts to interpret national law in light of the wording and purpose of the directive does not derogate from the obligation imposed on all other national authorities to adopt measures to ensure that the Community rule is implemented.
