Order — ECLI:EU:C:2000:434
Date: 2000-09-13
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Free movement of goods;Fisheries policy
Concepts: General
Procedure: Action for failure to fulfil obligations - inadmissible
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Order 
Actions for failure to fulfil obligations — ? re-litigation procedure — Letters of formal 
notice — Detailed opinion delivered under Directive 83/189 — No proper formal 
notice — Action inadmissible 
(EC Treaty, Art. 169 (now Art. 226 EC); Council Directive 83/189, Art. 9(1)) 
It follows from the function assigned to the 
pre-litigation stage of proceedings for fail­
ure of a State to fulfil its obligations that 
the purpose of the letter of formal notice is, 
first, to delimit the subject-matter of the 
dispute and to indicate to the Member 
State, which is invited to submit its obser­
vations, the factors enabling it to prepare 
its defence and, second, to enable the 
Member State to comply before proceed-
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SUMMARY — CASE C-341/97 
ings are brought before the Court. In 
addition, in order for a letter of formal 
notice to be issued, a prior failure by the 
Member State concerned to fulfil an obli­
gation owed by it must be alleged. 
However, at the time when a detailed 
opinion is delivered under Article 9(1) of 
Directive 83/189 laying down a procedure 
for the provision of information in the field 
of technical standards and regulations, the 
Member State to which it is addressed 
cannot have infringed Community law, 
since the measure exists only in draft form. 
The contrary view would result in the 
detailed opinion constituting a conditional 
formal notice whose existence would be 
dependent on the action taken by the 
Member State concerned in relation to the 
opinion. The requirements of legal cer­
tainty, which are inherent in any procedure 
capable of becoming contentious, preclude 
such incertitude. 
Since a detailed opinion of that kind does 
not constitute a formal notice meeting the 
requirements of Article 169 of the Treaty 
(now Article 226 EC), the action for failure 
to fulfil obligations brought by the Com­
mission is inadmissible. 
(see paras 17-21) 
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