20The bringing of an action for failure to fulfil obligations in such circumstances is hardly compatible with the system established by Article 141 EA. The proper conduct of the pre-litigation procedure provided for in that Article constitutes an essential guarantee required by the Treaty not only in order to protect the rights of the Member State concerned but also to ensure that any contentious procedure will have a clearly defined dispute as its subject-matter (see, to that effect, the order of the Court of 11 July 1995 in Case C-266/94 Commission v Spain [1995] ECR I-1975, paragraph 17, and Case C-392/99 Commission v Portugal [2003] ECR I-3373, paragraph 133).
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