29First, as regards the formal requirements, it must be observed that Article 8(1) of Regulation No 1663/95 makes a distinction between the communication of ‘findings’, referred to in the first subparagraph, which is what is in question here, and the ‘formal’ communication of ‘conclusions’, referred to in the second subparagraph, which happens at a later stage. It follows that the first communication does not have to meet such strict formal conditions as the second. As the Advocate General has argued, in points 62 to 71 of his Opinion, the requirement that the communication be in writing, at that stage in the procedure, has merely a probative function in relations between the Commission and the Member State concerned. That probative function is fulfilled by any procedure involving written documentation. Findings can therefore be communicated by a written message sent by telex or fax.
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