31It should be noted that, contrary to the submissions of Bundesrepublik Deutschland and the Netherlands Government, the wording of Article 4(1)(a)(i) of Directive 2000/60, which provides that ‘Member States shall implement the necessary measures to prevent deterioration of the status of all bodies of surface water’, attests to the binding force of that provision. The words ‘shall implement’ involve an obligation on the Member States to act to that effect.
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