Judgment_paragraph 17 · Commission of the European Communities v Italian Republic (C-145/01)

17It should be borne in mind that the purpose of the pre-litigation procedure is to give the Member State concerned an opportunity to comply with its obligations under Community law or to avail itself of its right to defend itself against the complaints made by the Commission (see Case 293/85 Commission v Belgium [1988] ECR 305, paragraph 13; and order in Case C-266/94 Commission v Spain [1995] ECR I-1975, paragraph 16). The proper conduct of that procedure thus constitutes an essential guarantee required by the EC Treaty in order to protect the rights of the Member State concerned. It is only when that guarantee is observed that the contentious procedure before the Court can enable it to judge whether the Member State has in fact failed to fulfil the obligations which the Commission alleges it has breached (order in Commission v Spain, paragraphs 17 and 18). More specifically, the purpose of the letter of formal notice in the pre-litigation procedure is to delimit the subject-matter of the dispute and to indicate to the Member State, which is invited to submit its observations, the factors enabling it to prepare its defence.