Balázs-Árpád Izsák and Attila Dabis v European Commission.
Date: 2019-03-07
23


On this point, it follows from the second paragraph of Article 252 TFEU that it is the duty of the Advocate General, acting with complete impartiality and independence, to make, in open court, reasoned submissions on cases which, in accordance with the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, require the Advocate General’s involvement; the Court is not bound either by the Advocate General’s Opinion or by the reasoning on which it is based (see, to that effect, judgments of 18 July 2013, Commission and Others v Kadi, C‑584/10 P, C‑593/10 P and C‑595/10 P, EU:C:2013:518, paragraph 57, and of 6 October 2015, Commission v Andersen, C‑303/13 P, EU:C:2015:647, paragraph 33).
24


Consequently, a party’s disagreement with the Opinion cannot, irrespective of the questions examined in the Opinion, in itself constitute grounds for reopening the oral part of the procedure (judgments of 22 November 2012, E.ON Energie v Commission, C‑89/11 P, EU:C:2012:738, paragraph 62, and of 17 September 2015, Mory and Others v Commission, C‑33/14 P, EU:C:2015:609, paragraph 26).
25


That said, Article 83 of the Rules of Procedure allows the Court at any time, after hearing the Advocate General, to order the reopening of the oral part of the procedure, in particular where the case must be decided on the basis of an argument which has not been debated between the parties (judgment of 21 December 2016, Council v Front Polisario, C‑104/16 P, EU:C:2016:973, paragraph 62).
51


It should be observed, as a preliminary point, as regards the process of registering a proposed ECI, that under Article 4 of Regulation No 211/2011 it is for the Commission to examine whether the proposal satisfies the conditions for registration laid down inter alia in Article 4(2)(b) of that regulation. In accordance with Article 4(1) and (2), information relating to the subject matter and objectives of the proposed ECI, provided by the organisers of the ECI compulsorily or on an optional basis, in accordance with Annex II to that regulation, must therefore be taken into consideration (judgment of 12 September 2017, Anagnostakis v Commission, C‑589/15 P, EU:C:2017:663, paragraph 45).
52


As stated in recital 10 of that regulation, the decision on the registration of a proposed ECI, within the meaning of Article 4 of that regulation, must be taken in accordance with the principle of good administration, which entails in particular the obligation for the competent institution to conduct a diligent and impartial examination which, moreover, takes into account all the relevant features of the case (judgment of 12 September 2017, Anagnostakis v Commission, C‑589/15 P, EU:C:2017:663, paragraph 47).
53


Moreover, in accordance with the objectives pursued by an ECI, as set out in recitals 1 and 2 of Regulation No 211/2011, consisting inter alia in encouraging participation by citizens and making the European Union more accessible, the registration condition in Article 4(2)(b) of that regulation must be interpreted and applied by the Commission, when it receives a proposed ECI, in such a way as to ensure easy accessibility to ECIs (judgment of 12 September 2017, Anagnostakis v Commission, C‑589/15 P, EU:C:2017:663, paragraph 49).
54


Accordingly, it is only if a proposed ECI, in view of its subject matter and objectives as reflected in the mandatory and, where appropriate, additional information that has been provided by the organisers pursuant to Annex II to Regulation No 211/2011, manifestly falls outside the framework of the Commission’s powers to submit a proposal for a legal act of the European Union for the purpose of implementing the Treaties that the Commission is entitled to refuse to register the proposed ECI pursuant to Article 4(2)(b) of that regulation (judgment of 12 September 2017, Anagnostakis v Commission, C‑589/15 P, EU:C:2017:663, paragraph 50).
64


Such a premiss cannot be consistent with the principles set out in paragraphs 53 and 54 above, according to which the Commission, on receipt of a proposed ECI, is required to interpret and apply that condition of registration in such a way as to make an ECI more accessible and is entitled to refuse registration of a proposed ECI only if it falls manifestly outside the framework of its powers (see, to that effect, judgment of 12 September 2017, Anagnostakis v Commission, C‑589/15 P, EU:C:2017:663, paragraphs 49 and 50).