97The applicant claims that the Court has consistently held that there is a general principle of Community law, based on the need for legal certainty and good administration, by virtue of which the authorities must exercise their powers within a specified period, in order to protect the legitimate expectations of citizens (Case 45/69 Boehringer Mannheim v Commission [1970] ECR 769, paragraph 6; Case 14/81 Alpha Steel v Commission [1982] ECR 749; Case 15/85 Consorzio Cooperative d'Abruzzo v Commission [1987] ECR 1005 and the Opinion of Advocate General Mischo in that judgment, ECR 1014; Case 223/85 RSV v Commission [1987] ECR 4617; Joined Cases T-551/93 and T-231/94 to T-234/94 Industrias Pesqueras Campos and Others v Commission [1996] ECR II-247). The Commission did not act with the due care required and failed to have regard to the requirements of legal certainty and good administration in ordering the repayment of financial aid after such an excessively long time.
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