Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2000:29
Date: 2000-01-20
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Fisheries policy
Procedure: Action for annulment;Appeal - successful
Origin: Italy

Summary of the Judgment 
1. Fisheries — Common structural policy — Development of aquaculture and establish­
ment of protected marine areas — Community financial assistance — Procedure for 
discontinuing the aid — Commission letter suspe/idiug the aid originally granted — 
Actionable measure — Preliminary obligation of the Commission 
(Council Regulation No 4028/86, Art. 44(1) and Art. 47; Commission Regulation 
No 1116/88, Art. 7) 
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SUMMARY — CASE C-359/98 P 
2. Fisheries — Common structural policy •— Development of aquaculture and establish­
ment of protected marine areas — Community financial assistance — Regulation 
imposing obligations on the Commission for the protection of the interests of 
individuals — Altering the legal effects of a regulation because of administrative 
difficulties — Not permissible 
(Council Regulation No 4028/86; Commission Regulation No 1116/88) 
3. Appeals — Appeal held to be well founded •— Final judgment on the substance by the 
Court of Justice — Decision contested in the action dismissed by the Court of First 
Instance to be annulled 
(EC Statute of the Court of Justice, Art. 54, first para.) 
1. A r t i c l e 4 4 ( 1 ) of R e g u l a t i o n 
N o 4028/86 on Community measures 
to improve and adapt structures in the 
fisheries and aquaculture sector, which 
confers on the Commission the power 
to suspend, reduce or discontinue aid in 
the event of one of the four conditions 
laid down in that article being met, 
aims to cover all decisions suspending 
financial aid when one of those condi­
tions is met. Whilst the Commission is 
not bound to exercise such power, 
Article 44(1) explicitly requires that, 
should the Commission do so, it must 
consult the Standing Committee for the 
Fishing Industry provided for by Arti­
cle 47 of Regulat ion N o 4028/86 . 
Similarly, under Article 7 of Regulation 
N o 1116/88 laying down detailed rules 
for the application of decisions grant­
ing aid, the procedures mentioned 
therein must be followed in such a case. 
(see paras 25-28) 
2. Where, as in the case of Regulation 
N o 4028/86 on Community measures 
to improve and adapt structures in the 
fisheries and aquaculture sector and 
Regulation N o 1116/88 laying down 
detailed rules for the application of 
decisions granting aid, a regulation 
imposes obligations on the Commis­
sion for the protection of the interests 
of individuals, administrative difficul­
ties cannot constitute a valid basis for 
altering the legal effects of that regula­
tion, including the specific procedural 
guarantees established by the Commu­
nity legislature. 
(see para. 34) 
3. Pursuant to the second sentence of the 
first paragraph of Article 54 of the EC 
Statute of the Court of Justice, where it 
quashes a decision of the Court of First 
Instance, the Court of Justice may itself 
give final judgment in the matter, if the 
state of the proceedings so permits. 
That is so where quashing the decision 
of the Court of First Instance implies 
that the decision which was the subject 
of the action brought before it must be 
annulled. 
(see paras 38-39) 
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