Judgment_paragraph 55 · European Commission v Romania (C-549/18)

55As regards Romania’s arguments based on its position vis-à-vis the other Member States as regards the transposition of Directive 2015/849, the average duration of the pre-litigation procedures concerning it or the duration of the pre-litigation procedure in the present case, it must be found, first, that those arguments relate not to the applicability of Article 260(3) TFEU to a failure to fulfil obligations such as that at issue, but to the merits of the application for the payment of a lump sum in the present case, which will be assessed at a later stage of this judgment. Secondly, in any event, the considerations which led the Commission to bring the present proceedings against Romania, and to do so on the date of its choosing, cannot prejudice the applicability of Article 260(3) TFEU or the admissibility of the action brought under that provision.