Section 6: Financial responsibility

I. - When the European Commission initiates proceedings against France on the basis of Article 258 or 260 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the State shall inform the local authorities, their groupings or their public establishments concerned by means of a referral comprising:

1° A note setting out the complaints in the proceedings brought against France;

2° The legal and factual elements likely to establish that the failure to fulfil one of the obligations incumbent on the State pursuant to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union falls wholly or partly within the remit of the territorial authorities or their groupings and public establishments referred to.

This referral also indicates the period of time that the territorial authorities, their groupings or their public establishments have to provide the State with any useful information to enable it to verify the fulfilment of its obligations and to ensure its defence.

This time limit takes account of the circumstances of the case; it may not be less than one month.

If, on expiry of the time limit given to them, the territorial authorities, their groupings and their public establishments referred to have not produced any observations, they are deemed to have acquiesced in the facts concerning them.

II. - The State shall inform the territorial authorities, their groupings or their public establishments to which it has referred the matter pursuant to I of this article of the progress of the procedure initiated by the European Commission, and in particular of the issue, where applicable, of a reasoned opinion or a decision to bring an action for failure to fulfil obligations before the Court of Justice of the European Union.

This information shall take the form of a note indicating the elements of the response that the State has sent to the European Commission as well as the objections contained in the reasoned opinion or the application. It may be accompanied, under the conditions set out in the fourth, fifth and sixth paragraphs of I, by a request for additional information useful for the State's defence before the European Commission or the Court of Justice of the European Union.