Actions for failure to fulfil obligations – Subject-matter of the dispute – Determination during the pre-litigation procedure
(Art. 226 EC)
The reasoned opinion, provided for in Article 226 EC, must contain a coherent and detailed exposition of the reasons which led the Commission to the conclusion that the Member State concerned had failed to fulfil one of its obligations under the Treaty. The reasoned opinion and therefore the action, which may not be based on pleas and grounds other than those put forward in that opinion, must therefore set out the complaints coherently and precisely in order that the Member State and the Court may appreciate exactly the scope of the infringement of Community law complained of, a condition which is necessary in order to enable the Member State to avail itself of its right to defend itself and the Court to determine whether there is a breach of obligations as alleged.
An action for failure to fulfil obligations which puts before the Court only one aspect of a legal mechanism composed of two inseparable parts and does not satisfy the requirements of coherence and precision must be dismissed as inadmissible.
(see paras 17-18, 21, 23 and operative part)