Keywords
Summary

Keywords

1 Plea of illegality - Incidental nature - Principal action inadmissible - Plea inadmissible

(EC Treaty, Art. 184)

2 Actions for annulment - Actionable measures - Acts which produce binding legal effects - Letter of the Commission confined to providing information on request concerning aid covered by a general scheme - Excluded

(EC Treaty, Arts 93(2) and 173)

Summary

3 The possibility afforded by Article 184 of the Treaty of pleading the inapplicability of a measure of general application forming the legal basis of the contested decision does not constitute an independent right of action and recourse may be had to it only as an incidental plea. More specifically, Article 184 may not be invoked in the absence of an independent right of action.

4 Any measure which produces binding legal effects and is such as to affect the interests of an applicant by bringing about a distinct change in his legal position is an act or decision which may be the subject of an action under Article 173 for a declaration that it is void.

Accordingly, a letter in which the Commission answers a request for information from a professional association of producers by sending a copy of a decision approving a Member State's general regional aid scheme, informing it that an undertaking has in fact requested aid from the government of that Member State and informing it that such aid is covered by the general scheme, application of which need not be the subject of specific approval by the Commission, may not be the subject of an action for annulment.

Such a letter, of which the import cannot be influenced by the mere fact that it was signed by the member of the Commission responsible for competition policy, does no more than provide information and does not constitute either a refusal to initiate the procedure under Article 93(2) or the rejection of a complaint.