Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:1999:531
Date: 1999-10-28
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Economic, social and territorial cohesion
Procedure: Action for annulment - inadmissible
Origin: Spain

Summary of the Judgment 
Actions for annulment — Actionable measures — Acts intended to produce legal 
effects — Act reflecting the Commission's intention to follow a certain line of conduct 
in connection with the reduction or suspension of a financial aid measure from a structural 
fund — Not included 
(EC Treaty, Art. 173 (now, after amendment, Art. 230 EC); Council Regulation 
No 4253/88, Art. 24) ò 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-443/97 
An action for annulment must be available 
in the case of all measures adopted by the 
institutions, whatever their nature or form, 
which are intended to have legal effects. 
However, internal guidelines have effects 
only within the administration itself and 
give rise to no rights or obligations on the 
part of third parties. That is the case with 
internal guidelines adopted by the Com­
mission, which reflect only its intention to 
follow a particular line of conduct in the 
exercise of the power, concerning the 
reduction or suspension of a financial aid 
measure, granted to it by Article 24 of 
Regulation No 4253/88 laying down pro­
visions for implementing Regulation 
No 2052/88 as regards coordination of 
the activities of the various Structural 
Funds between themselves and with the 
operations of the European Investment 
Bank and other existing financial instru­
ments. 
(see paras 27-28, 34) 
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