(18) On 27 December 2006 Belgium adopted a law(17) under which the authorisation for any coordination centre that so requested could be extended until 31 December 2010, where necessary with retroactive effect. In addition to the centres whose authorisation was renewed between 17 February 2003 and 31 December 2005, the possibility of extension would also be available to centres whose authorisation expires between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2010 and to an unspecified number of centres whose authorisation would have expired by 31 December 2005 at the latest but which had not submitted any renewal request by that date. The Law has not been notified to the Commission in accordance with Article 88(3) of the Treaty but its entry into force has been suspended and is conditional on confirmation by the Commission that it has no objections.

(19) Of the 243 coordination centres that existed in 2002, 173 are still operational in 2007. Of these, 27 have been granted an authorisation that is valid until 31 December 2010 in accordance with Decision 2003/757/EC. The authorisations for the other 136 coordination centres expire before 31 December 2010 and it is these centres, therefore, that are concerned by the possibility of extension afforded by the Law. It would seem that an unspecified number of coordination centres that have since ceased operations could also benefit from the extension provided for by the Law of 27 December 2006.

(20) Following the order of 26 June 2003 suspending the effects of the prohibition on the renewal of coordination centre authorisations that had expired, Belgium was able to renew the authorisations. The effects of such renewal could not, however, extend beyond the date of the judgment as to substance. The Court of Justice delivered its judgment on 22 June 2006.

(21) On the basis of the information available, the Commission expected that Belgium would simply extend the coordination centre authorisations until the end of 2005, as had been decided pursuant to the code of conduct and as requested by Belgium on several occasions. The Commission sought confirmation from Belgium by letter of 4 July 2006. Belgium confirmed that it had restricted to 31 December 2005 the renewals granted pursuant to the order of 26 June 2003, except for four centres whose authorisation had been extended indefinitely. It also informed the Commission that, on the basis of its interpretation of the Court's judgment, it intended to extend the authorisations for all the coordination centres up to the end of 2010 and to adopt in December 2006 a law permitting such a general extension beyond 2005, where necessary with retroactive effect.

(22) On 21 March 2007, for want of an agreement on the interpretation placed on the Court's judgment, the Commission took the view that it would have to extend the formal investigation procedure so as to give its own interpretation of the judgment and to make public the particulars on which, in its view, it would have to base itself in order to determine the ‘new’ transitional period requested by the Court. It also expressed doubts as to the interpretation of the Court's judgment as presented by Belgium and as to the latter's intention of renewing the authorisations for all the coordination centres until the end of 2010.

(23) Following the extension of the procedure, comments were submitted by Belgium, by Forum 187 and by three coordination centres whose authorisations expired on 31 December 2003 or 31 December 2004 and were renewed until 31 December 2005. It transpires from these comments that Belgium and the coordination centres defend the granting of a transitional period ending on 31 December 2010 for the following reasons: