36The Court has consistently held that the principle of the right to a fair hearing, to which the principle of the right to be heard is closely linked, applies not only to citizens but also to the Member States. As regards the latter, that principle has been recognised in the context of proceedings brought by a Community institution against Member States (see, inter alia, Denmark v Commission, paragraph 46). It has been held that the right to a fair hearing is, in all proceedings initiated against a person which are liable to culminate in a measure adversely affecting that person, a fundamental principle of Community law and must be guaranteed even in the absence of any rules (see, inter alia, Joined Cases C-48/90 and C-66/90 Netherlands and Others v Commission [1992] ECR I-565, paragraph 44; Case C-288/96 Germany v Commission [2000] ECR I-8237, paragraph 99; and Case C-287/02 Spain v Commission [2005] ECR I-5093, paragraph 37).
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