EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: COUNCIL BEGINS EXAMINATION OF PROPOSED STATUTE FOR POLITICAL PARTIES.

• Position: Brief Article

Questioned by the Council of Ministers' Working Party on General Affairs over the risk of discrimination between the various political sensitivities regarding the funding proposed by the draft Statute for political parties, presented by the European Commission (see European Report 2752 and 2753 for further details), the Council's Legal Service has suggested that the conditions set for eligibility for financing are not incompatible with Community law.

Declaration No 11 of the Nice Treaty stipulates that "provisions on the funding of political parties apply on the same basis to all political forces represented within the European Parliament". In its draft Statute, the European Commission proposes that "to be eligible for financing charged to the General Budget of the European Communities, a European political party shall demonstrate that it has a legal personality in the Member State in which its seat is located", that it is "represented by elected members in the European Parliament...