Judgment_paragraph 43 · Commission of the European Communities v Federal Republic of Germany (C-104/02)

43The Commission replies that Article 11 of Regulation No 1552/89 provides for a specific and unconditional obligation to pay default interest. The Court has previously referred to such an obligation in other infringement actions (Case 303/84 Commission v Germany [1986] ECR 1171, paragraph 19). Nor does Article 228 EC prevent the Court from making appropriate declarations with a view to putting an end to an infringement it has found. Lastly, the Member State has no margin of discretion on the issue of how to end the infringement, as the payment of the default interest in question is the only means of complying with a judgment which has upheld an infringement action.