39In its rejoinder, the Portuguese Republic contends that according to the settled case law of the Court, the question whether a Member State has failed to fulfil its obligations must be determined by reference to the situation prevailing in the Member State at the end of the period laid down in the reasoned opinion (see, inter alia, Case C-143/02 Commission v Italy [2003] ECR I-2877, paragraph 11, and Case C-446/01 Commission v Spain [2003] ECR I-6053, paragraph 15).
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