61999O0249

Actions for failure to act - Institution must be called upon to act - Conditions - Request must be clear and precise

(EC Treaty, Art. 175, second para. (now Art. 232, second para., EC))

$$An action for failure to act is admissible only in so far as the applicant has duly followed the pre-litigation procedure, satisfying the essential procedural requirement of calling upon the institution concerned to act, within the meaning of the second paragraph of Article 175 of the Treaty (now the second paragraph of Article 232 EC). Such a request must be expressed with sufficient clarity and precision for the institution to have a clear idea of the content of the decision sought and to realise that the purpose of the request is to compel the institution to state a position. Those conditions are not satisfied in the case of a fax addressed by the applicant to the Commission, which gives no indication to that effect and in no way suggests that it is deemed to constitute a preliminary to legal proceedings, but on the contrary merely asks the Commission for certain information, such as the telephone and fax numbers of the officials and official bodies handling the matter, with whom the applicant - according to its own statements - wishes to make contact.