Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Actions for annulment - Time limits - Starting point - Act which has not been published or notified to the applicant - Precise knowledge of the content and grounds - Obligation to request the full text thereof within a reasonable period once there is knowledge of its existence

(EC Treaty, Art. 173, fifth para. (now, after amendment, Art. 230, fifth para., EC))

2. Agriculture - Common agricultural policy - Food aid - Loans granted by the Community to the Republics of the former Soviet Union to finance purchases and supplies - Implementing rules - Recognition by the Commission that contracts are in compliance with the applicable Community provisions - Condition relating to adherence to the principle of free competition when contracts are awarded - Scope

(Commission Regulation No 1897/92; Council Decision 91/658)

3. Community law - Principles - Protection of legitimate expectations - Conditions

4. Acts of the institutions - Statement of reasons - Obligation - Scope

(EC Treaty, Art. 173 (now, after amendment, Art. 230 EC) and Art. 190 (now Art. 253 EC))

Summary

1. Failing publication or notification, it is for a party who has knowledge of an act concerning him to request the full text thereof within a reasonable period. Subject to that proviso, the period for bringing an action can begin to run only from the moment at which the third party concerned acquires precise knowledge of the content and grounds of the act in question, in such a way as to enable him to exercise his right of action.

( see para. 49 )

2. The criterion requiring adherence to the principle of free competition in the conclusion of contracts is crucial to the proper functioning of the lending mechanism established by the Community in the context of food and medical aid to the Soviet Union and its constituent Republics. In addition to being aimed at the prevention of fraud and collusion, it is designed, more generally, to guarantee the optimum use of the funds made available by the Community for aid to the Republics of the former Soviet Union. In actual fact, it is intended to protect both the Community as lender and the Republics in question as recipients of food and medical aid. Consequently, fulfilment of that criterion is clearly not merely a formal obligation but in fact an essential element of the implementation of the lending mechanism.

( see paras 65-66 )

3. The right to rely on the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations extends to any individual who is in a situation in which it is apparent that the Community administration has led him to entertain reasonable expectations, in particular by giving him precise assurances.

( see para. 85 )

4. The statement of reasons required by Article 190 of the Treaty (now Article 253 EC), which is an essential procedural requirement within the meaning of Article 173 of the Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 230 EC), must disclose in a clear and unequivocal fashion the reasoning followed by the institution which adopted the measure in question in such a way as to enable the persons concerned to ascertain the reasons for the measure and to enable the competent Community Court to exercise its power of review. It is not for the Court to determine, in the context of a plea alleging infringement of Article 190 of the Treaty, whether a decision could have been justified on grounds other than those stated in the decision in question.

( see paras 115-119 )