24      In this instance, the contested decision does not give effect to any procedural provision concerning the review of State aid that does not derive directly from the Treaty. By that decision, the Commission formally called on the Italian authorities to submit their comments on the measures referred to in it, pursuant to Article 88(2) EC, and, in making that request, provisionally classified that aid as new aid, thereby entailing the suspension thereof to the extent indicated in the same decision (see Case C-312/90 Spain v Commission [1992] ECR I‑4117, paragraph 17, and Case C-47/91 Italy v Commission [1992] ECR I‑4145, paragraph 25, and also the interlocutory judgment, paragraph 56). No procedure or legal effect of that decision is based on any innovative provision of the regulation on procedure in State aid cases.

74 That is why the more recent case-law of the Court refers to a maximum time-limit of two months (see, for example, Germany v Commission, cited above, paragraph 11, Case C-312/90 Spain v Commission [1992] ECR I-4117, paragraph 18, and Case C-39/94 SFEI and Others [1996] ECR I-3547, paragraph 38). The Commission's first argument must therefore be rejected.

46 On the other hand, it is also apparent from the case-law of the Court that an intermediate measure which has independent legal effects may form the subject matter of an action for annulment in so far as the illegality attaching to that measure cannot be remedied in an action brought against the final decision for which it represents a preparatory step (see, to that effect, inter alia, judgments of 30 June 1992, Spain v Commission, C‑312/90, EU:C:1992:282, paragraphs 21 and 22; of 30 June 1992, Italy v Commission, C‑47/91, EU:C:1992:284, paragraphs 27 and 28; and of 13 October 2011, Deutsche Post and Germany v Commission, C‑463/10 P and C‑475/10 P, EU:C:2011:656, paragraphs 53, 54 and 60).

33 In every situation, initiation of the formal investigation procedure in respect of a measure which the Commission presumes to be new aid obliges the Member State concerned to suspend implementation of the measure (see, to that effect, judgments of 30 June 1992, Spain v Commission, C‑312/90, EU:C:1992:282, paragraph 17; of 9 October 2001, Italy v Commission, C‑400/99, EU:C:2001:528, paragraph 59; of 10 May 2005, Italy v Commission, C‑400/99, EU:C:2005:275, paragraph 39; and of 9 June 2011, Diputación Foral de Vizcaya and Others v Commission, C‑465/09 P to C‑470/09 P, not published, EU:C:2011:372, paragraph 92).