51As regards, next, the alleged legal complexity of the recovery operation, owing to the difficulty in determining whether the applicable procedure is that provided for in civil law or whether it is appropriate to have recourse to the administrative procedure, it must be observed that although, in the absence of Community provisions relating to the procedure applicable to the recovery of illegal aid, such recovery must take place, in principle, in accordance with the relevant provisions of national law. Such provisions must however be applied in such a way that the recovery required by Community law is not rendered practically impossible and the interests of the Community are taken fully into consideration (see Commission v Portugal, paragraph 55).
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.