61997B0274

Actions for annulment - Actionable measures - Definition - Measures producing binding legal effects - Letter from the Commission informing the applicant of the continuation of a procedure for cancelling a contribution and recovering the amount already paid

(EC Treaty, Art. 173; Council Regulation No 4028/86)

Any measure which produces binding legal effects 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.

In the case of acts or decisions drawn up in a procedure involving several stages, and particularly at the end of an internal procedure, it is only those measures which definitively determine the position of the institution upon the conclusion of that procedure which are open to challenge and not intermediate measures whose purpose is to prepare for the final decision.

A letter in which the Commission informs the applicant company of the continuation of an internal procedure with a view to cancelling financial aid granted to it under Regulation No 4028/86 on Community measures to improve and adapt structures in the fisheries and aquaculture sector, and recovering the amount already paid is to be regarded as an intermediate measure whose purpose is to prepare for the final decision and cannot, therefore, be regarded as an actionable measure. As to any adverse effects arising from the fact that the procedure is pending before the Commission, they are merely the logical consequence of the commencement of that procedure and, so long as the Commission adopts only temporary measures, do not indicate the existence of a measure which produces binding legal effects such as to affect the interests of the applicant.