28In view of the difficulties in fact encountered and given the case-law concerning the duty imposed on the Member States and the Community institutions to cooperate genuinely with each other (see Case C-261/99 Commission v France [2001] ECR I-2537, paragraph 24), it cannot be disputed that the period fixed in Article 3 of Decision 97/239 was replaced by that which resulted from the letter of 4 May 1998. That latter date must be regarded as the pertinent one and it must be held that initiatives and measures taken by the Belgian authorities after the date when that period expired cannot be taken into consideration.
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