14It should be recalled that, although it is true that the excessive duration of the pre-litigation procedure is capable of constituting a defect rendering an action for failure to fulfil obligations inadmissible, it is clear from the case-law that such a conclusion is inevitable only where the conduct of the Commission has made it difficult to refute its arguments, thus infringing the rights of the defence, and that it is for the Member State concerned to provide evidence of such a difficulty (see, to that effect, Case C-96/89 Commission v Netherlands [1991] ECR I-2461, paragraphs 15 and 16, and Case C-207/97 Commission v Belgium [1999] ECR I-275, paragraphs 24 and 25).
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