Judgment_paragraph 49 · Société chimique Prayon-Rupel SA v Commission of the European Communities (T-73/98)

49The applicant bears the burden of proving the existence of serious difficulties and may discharge that burden of proof by reference to a body of consistent evidence. In the context of an action for annulment under Article 173 of the EC Treaty (now, after amendment, Article 230 EC) the legality of a Community measure falls to be assessed on the basis of the elements of fact and of law existing at the time when the measure was adopted (see Joined Cases 15/76 and 16/76 France v Commission [1979] ECR 321, paragraph 7, and British Airways and Others v Commission, cited above, paragraph 81) and cannot depend on retrospective considerations of its efficacy (see Case 40/72 Schroeder v Germany [19731 ECR 125, paragraph 14).