51Last, as regards the sixth part of this ground of appeal, relating to an error of law committed by the General Court in its assessment of the alleged disregard by the Parliament of the appellant’s rights of defence, it should be recalled that the principle of respect for the rights of the defence is, in all proceedings initiated against a person which are liable to culminate in a measure adversely affecting that person, a general principle of EU law which is applicable even in the absence of any specific rules in that regard. That principle requires that the addressees of decisions which significantly affect the interests of those addressees should be placed in a position in which they may effectively make known their views with regard to the evidence on which those decisions are based (see, to that effect, judgments of 12 February 1992 in Netherlands and Others v Commission, C‑48/90 and C‑66/90, EU:C:1992:63, paragraphs 44 and 45; 24 October 1996 in Commission v Lisrestal and Others, C‑32/95 P, EU:C:1996:402, paragraph 30; and 9 June 2005 in Spain v Commission, C‑287/02, EU:C:2005:368, paragraph 37).
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