Commission communication to the European Parliament and the European ombudsman on relations with the complainant in respect of infringements of community law
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/s ... l=guichett
2. General principles
Anyone may file a complaint with the Commission free of charge against a Member State about any measure (law, regulation or administrative action) or practice by a Member State which they consider incompatible with a provision or principle of Community law.
3. Recording of complaints
Any correspondence which is likely to be investigated as a complaint shall be recorded in the central registry of complaints kept by the Secretariat-General of the Commission.
Correspondence shall not be investigable as a complaint by the Commission, and shall therefore not be recorded in the central registry of complaints, if:
- it is anonymous, fails to show the address of the sender or shows an incomplete address;
- it fails to refer, explicitly or implicitly, to a Member State to which the measures or practice contrary to Community law may be attributed;
- it denounces the acts or omissions of a private person or body, unless the measure or complaint reveals the involvement of public authorities or alleges their failure to act in response to those acts or omissions. In all cases, the Commission shall verify whether the correspondence discloses behaviour that is contrary to the competition rules (Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty);
- it fails to set out a grievance;
- it sets out a grievance with regard to which the Commission has adopted a clear, public and consistent position, which shall be communicated to the complainant;
- it sets out a grievance which clearly falls outside the scope of Community law.
Where there is doubt as to the nature of an item of correspondence, the Secretariat-General of the Commission shall consult the department(s) concerned within fifteen calendar days of receipt. If the department(s) fail to reply within fifteen working days, the complaint shall be formally recorded at the central registry of complaints.
To speed up the processing of complaints, the Commission will provide complainants with a standard complaint form, as published in the Official Journal of the European Communities [7] and available from the Commission on request or on the European Communities' Europa server at the following address:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_g ... orm_en.htm
Written complaints may be sent to the Commission Secretariat-General (B-1049 Brussels, fax: +32.2.295.39.13; e-mail:
SG-PLAINTES@cec.eu.int), or lodged with one of the Commission's offices in the Member States.
7. Communication with complainants
The Commission departments will contact complainants and inform them in writing, after each Commission decision (formal notice, reasoned opinion, referral to the Court or closure of the case), of the steps taken in response to their complaint.
Where a number of complaints are lodged in relation to the same grievance, individual acknowledgements may be replaced by a publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities and on the European Communities' Europa server.
At any point during the procedure complainants may ask to explain or clarify to the Commission officials, on the spot and at their own expense, the grounds for their complaint.
8. Time limit for investigating complaints
As a general rule, Commission departments will investigate complaints with a view to arriving at a decision to issue a formal notice or to close the case within not more than one year from the date of registration of the complaint by the Secretariat-General.
Where this time limit is exceeded, the Commission department responsible for the case will inform the complainant in writing.
9. Outcome of the investigation of complaints
After investigating the complaint, Commission officials may ask the College of Commissioners either to issue a formal notice opening proceedings against the Member State in question, or to close the case definitively.
The Commission will decide on the matter at its discretion. This discretion shall cover not only the desirability of opening or terminating an infringement procedure but also the choice of complaint.
Complainants will be informed in writing of the decision taken by the Commission in connection with their complaint and any subsequent Commission decisions on the matter.
Where a number of complaints are lodged in relation to the same grievance, individual acknowledgements may be replaced by a publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities and on the European Communities' Europa server.
10. Closure of the case
Unless there are exceptional circumstances requiring urgent measures, where a Commission department intends to propose that no further action be taken on a complaint, it will give the complainant prior notice thereof in a letter setting out the grounds on which it is proposing that the case be closed and inviting the complainant to submit any comments within a period of four weeks.
Where a number of complaints are lodged in relation to the same grievance, individual acknowledgements may be replaced by a publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities and on the European Communities' Europa server.
Where the complainant does not reply, or where the complainant cannot be contacted for reasons for which he/she is responsible, or where the complainant's observations do not persuade the department to reconsider its position, a proposal to close the case will be put forward. In that event, the complainant will be informed of the Commission's decision.
Where the complainant's observations persuade the department concerned to reconsider its position, investigation of the complaint will continue.
11. Simplified procedure for closing cases
Infringement cases in which no letter of formal notice has been dispatched may be closed under a simplified administrative procedure that does not involve discussion by the College of Commissioners.
This procedure may be applied in cases where initial examination by the Commission departments has made it quite clear that the complaint is either groundless or irrelevant; or that there is no evidence, or insufficient evidence, to substantiate the complaint. The procedure may also be applied where the complainant shows no further interest in the prosecution of the complaint.
Where a Commission department intends to use this procedure, it will inform the complainant thereof in accordance with the procedure described in point 10.
12. Publicising infringement decisions
Commission decisions on infringement cases are published within one week of their adoption on the Secretariat-General's Internet site at the following address:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_g ... dex_en.htm
