47As a finding that the duration of the procedure was excessive and that responsibility for that duration could not be attributed to TU or to the FEG was not in itself a sufficient ground on which to conclude that there had been a breach of the‘reasonable time’ principle, the Court of First Instance evaluated the impact of such a duration on TU's rights of defence. The premiss for such an approach may be seen at paragraph 74 of the judgment under appeal, where the Court of First Instance held that the fact that a reasonable time is exceeded can constitute a ground for annulment only in the case of a decision finding infringements, where it has been proved that breach of that principle has adversely affected the rights of defence of the undertakings concerned. Save in that specific case, failure to comply with the obligation to adopt a decision within a reasonable time cannot affect the validity of the administrative procedure under Regulation No 17.
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