Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Pre-litigation procedure — Subject-matter — Delimitation of the subject-matter of the action — (Art. 226 EC)

2. Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — Pre-litigation procedure — Reasoned opinion not taking into account information provided in response to a letter of formal notice — Bearing on admissibility — Limits — (Art. 226 EC)

Summary

1. The purpose of the pre-litigation procedure laid down in Article 226 EC is to give the Member State concerned an opportunity to comply with its obligations under Community law or to avail itself of its right to defend itself against the complaints made by the Commission. The proper conduct of the pre-litigation procedure constitutes an essential guarantee required by the Treaty not only in order to protect the rights of the Member State concerned, but also so as to ensure that the contentious procedure will have as its subject-matter a clearly defined dispute.

see paras 16-17

2. So far as concerns an action for failure to fulfil obligations by having failed to transpose a directive, there being no provision of Community law penalising failure to respond to the letter of formal notice within the period fixed by the Commission by rendering the Member State's observations inadmissible, the Commission is required to set out, in its reasoned opinion, its assessment of the observations received after that period had expired, before specifying which complaints it intended to pursue.

Nevertheless, when a Member State does no more in its reply than announce the future adoption of implementing measures, the fact that the Commission fails to take account of those observations has no effect on the definition of the subject-mater of the dispute and thus does not make it impossible for the Member State to put an end to its infringement and does not compromise its rights of defence.

In those circumstances, the reasoned opinion cannot be regarded as vitiated by a substantive defect capable of rendering the action inadmissible.

see paras 19-21