Complaint procedures
Article 5
1. The complaints referred to in Articles 3 and 4 shall be submitted to the Commission, which shall send a copy thereof to the Member States. 2. The complaint may be withdrawn, in which case the procedure may be terminated unless such termination would not be in the interests of the Union. 3. Where it becomes apparent that the complaint does not provide sufficient evidence to justify initiating an investigation, the complainant shall be informed accordingly. The Commission shall inform the Member States where it decides that the complaint does not provide sufficient evidence to justify initiating an investigation. 4. The Commission shall take a decision as soon as possible on the opening of a Union examination procedure following any complaint made in accordance with Article 3 or 4. The decision shall be taken within 45 days of the lodging of the complaint. That period may be suspended at the request, or with the agreement, of the complainant, in order to allow for the provision of complementary information which may be needed to fully assess the validity of the complainant’s case.