Order — ECLI:EU:T:2016:511
Date: 2016-09-15
Language of the case: Italian
Court formation: Second Chamber
Subject matter: Provisions governing the Institutions
Procedure: Action for annulment - inadmissible
Origin: Italy

Summary — Order of the General Court (Second Chamber), 15 September 2016 Actions for annulment — Actionable measures — Definition — Measures producing binding legal effects — Communication from a member of the Commission in answer to a parliamentary question — Not included (Art. 263 TFEU) A Commission communication in the form of a written response to a parliamentary question seeking to obtain clarification as to the interpretation of the concept of ‘services’, within the meaning of Directive 2006/123 on services in the internal market, in the light of a judgment of a national court, is not in any way intended to produce binding legal effects, within the meaning of Article 263 TFEU. In that communication, the Commission took the view that it was unable to comment, since the national judgment in question did not relate to the application of EU law and was concerned only with national legislation. Having regard to both the context, constituted by the parliamentary question, and the content and wording of that communication, it constitutes a reply to a parliamentary question which does not express any decision adopted by the Commission or, indeed, any opinion regarding the interpretation of Directive 2006/123. Moreover, an annulment action does not lie either against an act of the Commission which reflects its intention to follow a particular line of conduct or against a simple written expression of opinion, such as reiteration by the Commission of its interpretation of the provisions of a secondary legislative act, since it is not capable of producing legal effects and is also not intended to produce such effects. In that context, even if the said communication sets out the interpretation by the Commission of Directive 2006/123, that communication would still not be intended to produce binding legal effects. (see paras 12, 13, 16)