Council of the European Communities v European Parliament.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Celex Number: 61986CJ0034
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:1986:291
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Docket Number: 34/86
• Date: 03 July 1986
• Procedure Type: Recours en annulation - fondé

Avis juridique important

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61986J0034

Judgment of the Court of 3 July 1986. - Council of the European Communities v European Parliament. - Budgetary procedure: power of the European Parliament to increase non-compulsory expenditure. - Case 34/86.

European Court reports 1986 Page 02155
Swedish special edition Page 00673
Finnish special edition Page 00699

Summary
Parties
Subject of the case
Grounds
Decision on costs
Operative part

Keywords

1 . APPLICATION FOR A DECLARATION THAT A MEASURE IS VOID - ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY - ACTS OPEN TO CHALLENGE - ACTS OF THE PARLIAMENT INTENDED TO HAVE LEGAL EFFECTS VIS-A-VIS THIRD PARTIES - DECLARATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE FINAL ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET

( EEC TREATY , ARTS 173 AND 203 ( 7 ) AND ( 10 ))

2 . BUDGET OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES - BUDGETARY PROCEDURE - ABSENCE OF AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNCIL AND THE PARLIAMENT TO AMEND THE MAXIMUM RATE OF INCREASE IN NON-COMPULSORY EXPENDITURE - DECLARATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENT OF THE FINAL ADOPTION OF THE BUDGET - ILLEGALITY

( EEC TREATY , ART . 203 ( 7 ) AND ( 9 ))

3 . APPLICATION FOR A DECLARATION THAT A MEASURE IS VOID - JUDGMENT DECLARING A MEASURE VOID - EFFECTS - LIMITATION BY THE COURT - INVALIDITY OF THE BUDGET OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

( EEC TREATY , SECOND PARAGRAPH OF ART . 174 )

Summary

1 . AMONG THE ACTS OF THE PARLIAMENT AGAINST WHICH AN ACTION FOR ANNULMENT MAY BE BROUGHT PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY IS THE DECLARATION BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENT , ACTING IN HIS CAPACITY AS AN ORGAN OF THAT INSTITUTION , THAT THE BUDGET OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES HAS BEEN FINALLY ADOPTED .

THIS POSSIBILITY TO REFER ACTS OF THE BUDGETARY AUTHORITY FOR REVIEW BY THE COURT , WHICH IS NOT EXCLUDED BY ANY PROVISION OF THE TREATY , IS SUCH AS TO ENSURE THAT EACH INSTITUTION EXERCISES THE POWERS CONFERRED ON IT IN RESPECT OF THE BUDGET WITH DUE REGARD FOR THE PROVISIONS OF THE TREATY , AS LAID DOWN IN ARTICLE 203 ( 10 ).

2 . SINCE , NOTWITHSTANDING THE FACT THAT THE COMMISSION , THE COUNCIL AND THE PARLIAMENT CONCURRED IN THE VIEW THAT THE MAXIMUM RATE OF INCREASE IN NON-COMPULSORY EXPENDITURE , AS FIXED BY THE COMMISSION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 203 ( 9 ) OF THE EEC TREATY , WAS NOT ADEQUATE TO ENABLE THE COMMUNITIES TO FUNCTION PROPERLY DURING THE FINANCIAL YEAR IN QUESTION , THE COUNCIL AND THE PARLIAMENT WERE UNABLE TO AGREE ON A NEW MAXIMUM RATE , THE BUDGETARY PROCEDURE CANNOT BE REGARDED AS COMPLETED SO THAT THE DECLARATION , IN THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES , BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENT THAT THE BUDGET HAS BEEN FINALLY ADOPTED IS VITIATED BY ILLEGALITY AND MUST BE DECLARED VOID .

3 . WHEN THE DECLARATION BY THE COURT , IN PROCEEDINGS UNDER ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY , THAT THE BUDGET OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES FOR A GIVEN FINANCIAL YEAR IS INVALID COMES AT A TIME WHEN A SUBSTANTIAL PART OF THAT FINANCIAL YEAR HAS ALREADY ELAPSED , THE NEED TO GUARANTEE THE CONTINUITY OF THE EUROPEAN PUBLIC SERVICE AND ALSO IMPORTANT REASONS OF LEGAL CERTAINTY WHICH MAY BE COMPARED WITH THOSE WHICH APPLY IN THE CASE OF THE ANNULMENT OF CERTAIN REGULATIONS , JUSTIFY THE COURT IN EXERCISING THE POWER EXPRESSLY CONFERRED ON IT BY THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF ARTICLE 174 OF THE TREATY AND IN STATING THE EFFECTS OF THE BUDGET IN QUESTION WHICH MUST BE CONSIDERED AS DEFINITIVE .

Parties

IN CASE 34/86

COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , REPRESENTED BY ITS LEGAL ADVISERS , MR D . GORDON-SMITH AND MR F . VAN CRAEYENEST , ACTING AS AGENTS , WITH AN ADDRESS FOR SERVICE IN LUXEMBOURG AT THE OFFICE OF MR J . KASER , DIRECTOR OF THE LEGAL AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT OF THE EUROPEAN INVESTMENT BANK , PLATEAU DE KIRCHBERG ,

APPLICANT ,

SUPPORTED BY

FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY , REPRESENTED BY MR M . SEIDEL , MINISTERIALRAT AT THE FEDERAL MINISTRY FOR THE ECONOMY AT BONN , ACTING AS AGENT ,

FRENCH REPUBLIC , REPRESENTED BY MR G . GUILLAUME , DIRECTOR OF LEGAL AFFAIRS AT THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL RELATIONS , ACTING AS AGENT , AND

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND , REPRESENTED BY ITS AGENT , MR T . J . G . PRATT , PRINCIPAL ASSISTANT TREASURY SOLICITOR , ASSISTED BY MR F . JACOBS , QUEEN ' S COUNSEL ,

INTERVENERS ,

V

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT , REPRESENTED BY ITS JURISCONSULT , MR F . PASETTI-BOMBARDELLA , ACTING AS AGENT , ASSISTED BY MR J . LEVER , QUEEN ' S COUNSEL , OF LONDON AND BY MAITRE LYON-CAEN , AVOCAT , OF PARIS , WITH AN ADDRESS FOR SERVICE IN LUXEMBOURG AT THE GENERAL SECRETARIAT OF THE PARLIAMENT , PLATEAU DE KIRCHBERG ,

DEFENDANT ,

Subject of the case

APPLICATION FOR ANNULMENT RELATING TO THE LEGALITY OF THE GENERAL BUDGET OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1986 ,

Grounds

1 BY APPLICATION LODGED AT THE COURT REGISTRY ON 11 FEBRUARY 1986 , THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES BROUGHT AN ACTION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY AND ARTICLE 146 OF THE EAEC TREATY AGAINST THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT FOR THE PARTIAL OR , IN THE ALTERNATIVE , TOTAL ANNULMENT OF THE GENERAL BUDGET OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1986 ( OFFICIAL JOURNAL L 358 ) AND ALSO FOR THE ANNULMENT OF THE ACT OF 18 DECEMBER 1985 WHEREBY THE PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT DECLARED THE FINAL ADOPTION OF THAT BUDGET .

2 THE COUNCIL , AS WELL AS THE GERMAN , FRENCH AND UNITED KINGDOM GOVERNMENTS WHICH HAVE INTERVENED IN THE CASE IN SUPPORT OF ITS CONCLUSIONS , COMPLAIN IN PARTICULAR THAT THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT INCREASED , AS THE RESULT OF AMENDMENTS VOTED AT THE SECOND READING OF THE DRAFT BUDGET ON 12 DECEMBER 1985 , CERTAIN BUDGETARY APPROPRIATIONS IN BREACH OF THE TREATIES AND IN PARTICULAR OF ARTICLE 203 ( 9 ) OF THE EEC TREATY AND OF THE CORRESPONDING PROVISIONS OF THE EAEC AND ECSC TREATIES . THEY MAINTAIN THAT THESE INCREASES BRING ABOUT A RISE IN THE NON-COMPULSORY EXPENDITURE IN THE 1986 BUDGET , AS COMPARED WITH THE LIKE EXPENDITURE FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR 1985 , WHICH EXCEEDS THE MAXIMUM RATE OF INCREASE FIXED IN CONFORMITY WITH ARTICLE 203 ( 9 ).

3 THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ' S PRIMARY CONTENTION IS THAT THE APPLICATION IS INADMISSIBLE . IN THE ALTERNATIVE , IT CONTENDS THAT IT RESPECTED THE LETTER AND SPIRIT OF ARTICLE 203 ( 9 ) OF THE EEC TREATY . IT WAS THE COUNCIL THAT DISREGARDED THE PROVISIONS OF THE TREATIES , IN PARTICULAR THOSE OF ARTICLE 199 OF THE EEC TREATY , BY SUBMITTING TO THE PARLIAMENT A DRAFT BUDGET AND , AFTER THE PARLIAMENT ' S FIRST READING , A MODIFIED DRAFT THE ADOPTION OF WHICH WOULD HAVE RENDERED IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR THE COMMUNITIES TO MEET THEIR COMMITMENTS .

ADMISSIBILITY

4 THE PARLIAMENT DENIES IN THE FIRST PLACE THAT THE COUNCIL MAY RELY ON ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY FOR THE PURPOSES OF SEEKING THE ANNULMENT OF THE BUDGET AS AN ACT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT . ACCORDING TO THAT INSTITUTION , ARTICLE 173 DOES NOT PROVIDE FOR A REVIEW OF THE LEGALITY OF THE ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ANY MORE , FOR THAT MATTER , THAN IT ALLOWS THE ASSEMBLY TO CHALLENGE BEFORE THE COURT THE LEGALITY OF THE ACTS OF THE COUNCIL AND THE COMMISSION OF THE COMMUNITIES .

5 HOWEVER , IT MUST BE POINTED OUT THAT THE COURT HAS ALREADY HELD IN ITS JUDGMENT OF 23 APRIL 1986 ( CASE 294/83 PARTI ECOLOGISTE ' LES VERTS ' ( 1986 ) ECR 1339 ) THAT BY VIRTUE OF ARTICLE 173 OF THE EEC TREATY AN ACTION FOR ANNULMENT MAY BE BROUGHT AGAINST THE ACTS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT WHICH ARE INTENDED TO HAVE LEGAL EFFECTS VIS-A-VIS THIRD PARTIES , PROVIDED THAT THE OTHER CONDITIONS LAID DOWN BY THAT ARTICLE ARE SATISFIED .

6 IN THIS REGARD , IT MUST BE NOTED THAT THE GENERAL BUDGET OF THE COMMUNITIES IS THE INSTRUMENT WHICH SETS OUT FORECASTS OF , AND AUTHORIZES IN ADVANCE , THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE FOR EACH YEAR . ACCORDING TO THE SECOND PARAGRAPH OF ARTICLE 199 OF THE EEC TREATY , THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE MUST BE IN BALANCE . IT IS FOR THE COMMISSION TO IMPLEMENT THE BUDGET , BY VIRTUE OF ARTICLE 205 , WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE APPROPRIATIONS ALLOCATED , WHILST THE REVENUE ENTERED IN THE BUDGET DETERMINES THE LEVEL OF THE...