Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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1. Actions for annulment of measures ° Actionable measures ° Definition ° Acts producing binding legal effects ° Opinion addressed by the Commission to national authorities responsible for taking the measures prescribed by a regulation in the context of the common agricultural policy

(EEC Treaty, Art. 173)

2. Objection of illegality ° Incidental nature ° Main claim inadmissible ° Inadmissibility of the objection

(EEC Treaty, Art. 184)

Summary

1. Only measures producing binding legal effects of such a kind as to affect the applicant' s interests constitute acts or decisions open to challenge by an application for annulment under Article 173 of the Treaty.

Such is not the case for an opinion addressed by the Commission to the authorities of a Member State which not only merely contains a provisional view on draft national rules and recalls the scope of a Community regulation but also falls within the framework of the cooperation between the Commission and the national authorities which is inherent in and indispensable to the efficient management of the common agricultural policy and cannot therefore be regarded as producing legal effects for individuals.

2. The possibility provided by Article 184 of the Treaty of invoking the inapplicability of a regulation does not constitute an independent right of action and may only be sought incidentally. A finding of inadmissibility as regards the main claim therefore entails the inadmissibility of the claim brought under Article 184 of the Treaty.