In Case C‑136/06

ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT

29 August 2007 (*)

(Removal from the register)

In Case C‑136/06,

ACTION under Article226 EC for failure to fulfil obligations, brought on 10March 2006,

Commission of the European Communities, represented by M. Konstantinidis and D. Lawunmi, acting as Agents, with an address for service in Luxembourg,

applicant,

v

Republic of Malta,

defendant,

THE PRESIDENT OF THE COURT,

after hearing the Advocate General, M.Poiares Maduro,

makes the following

Order

1By letter lodged at the Court Registry on 17July 2007, the Commission informed the Court pursuant to Article78 of the Rules of Procedure that it wished to withdraw its application and requested the Court to order the Republic of Malta to pay the costs pursuant to Article69(5) of those Rules.

2The defendant did not submit any observations on that withdrawal within the prescribed period.

3Under the first subparagraph of Article69(5) of the Rules of Procedure, a party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings is to be ordered to pay the costs if they have been applied for in the other party’s observations on the discontinuance. However, upon application by the party who discontinues or withdraws from proceedings, the costs are to be borne by the other party if this appears justified by the conduct of that party.

4In the present case, the application and the subsequent withdrawal of the Commission were the result of the conduct of the Republic of Malta, which did not adopt the measures to fulfil its obligations until after the action was brought.

5The Republic of Malta must therefore be ordered to pay the costs.

On those grounds, the President of the Court hereby orders:

1.Case C‑136/06 is removed from the register of the Court.

2.The Republic of Malta shall pay the costs.

Luxembourg, 29August 2007.

* Language of the case: English.