For så vidt angår sidestillingen af ministerens tilkendegivelse i juli og en hensigtserklæring, understreger de franske myndigheder, at »(i) det er for det første en forudsætning for en hensigtserklæring, at den er udstedt til fordel for en modtager, (ii) i forlængelse af forudgående argument træder den for det andet kun i kraft, hvis denne modtager godtager det, (iii) endelig afhænger forpligtelsesgraden (både hvad angår det omfang og den virkning, udstederen ønsker at give erklæringen) udelukkende af, hvilke formuleringer der anvendes«.
With regard to the comparison between the Minister's July declarations and a letter of intent, the French authorities stress that ‘(i) firstly, it is of the essence of the letter of intent that it is addressed to a beneficiary; (ii) secondly, and as an extension of the preceding observation, the effectiveness of the method is dependent on acceptance by the said beneficiary; and (iii), lastly, the scope of the commitment given (both as regards its object and as regards the force which its author wishes to give to it) depends exclusively on the terms employed’.