Judgment_paragraph 69 · Romania v European Commission (T-33/21)

69A corollary of the principle of legal certainty is the principle of the protection of legitimate expectations, under which the right to rely on that protection extends to any person whom an institution of the European Union has caused, by giving him or her precise assurances, to entertain justified hopes. Information which is precise, unconditional and consistent, in whatever form it is given, constitutes such assurances. By contrast, a person may not plead breach of that principle unless he or she has been given those assurances (see judgment of 13 September 2017, Pappalardo and Others v Commission, C‑350/16 P, EU:C:2017:672, paragraph 39 and the case-law cited). The principle of the protection of legitimate expectations can also be invoked by a Member State (see judgment of 5 July 2018, Spain v Commission, T‑88/17, EU:T:2018:406, paragraph 107 and the case-law cited).