The EU General Court rules that the Commission may not reopen a formal investigation procedure after the annulment of the Commission’s decision when the basis of annulment lies in the error of law or manifest error of assessment (Loutraki Kazino)

The Commission Need not Always Open the Formal Investigation Procedure before Correcting a Faulty Decision* The formal investigation procedure need not be re-opened when the fault lies in the legal assessment of the measure in question. Introduction This article examines when the Commission does not have to re-open the formal investigation procedure after a previous decision is annulled. Formal investigation On 19 January 2022, the General Court ruled in case T757/18, Loutraki Kazino v European Commission, that the Commission was not obliged to open the formal investigation procedure in order to correct a previous decision that was annulled by the General Court. Loutraki Kazino, a Greek casino, sought annulment of Commission decision 2018/1575 which found that system of fees on