Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament, warned the von der Leyen Commission that bypassing the Parliament to fast-track the adoption of the €150 billion joint rearmament fund could trigger legal action at the EU Court of Justice.
In a letter, made public by Euractiv on Wednesday, May 7th, Metsola strongly urged EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to reconsider triggering Art. 122, an emergency clause in the EU treaties that would allow it to reduce negotiating time to a minimum, practically sending the joint debt proposal straight to the Council (of member states governments), leaving out MEPs from the legislative process.
It’s a rare occurrence to see the two leaders in conflict, given that they both hail from the same EPP group and usually shield each other from external criticism. But Metsola also has to represent the entire Parliament, and now, unwittingly, exposed von der Leyen’s autocratic tendencies, which member states have been complaining about for years.
The Commission presented the €150 billion SAFE (‘Security and Action for Europe’) program—part of the larger, €800 billion ReArm Europe package—in March under this emergency clause, arguing that the current geopolitical situation and the threat of war makes it necessary to implement the plan in the shortest possible timeframe.
Then, the Parliament’s legal affairs (JURI) committee unanimously voted to reject this approach last month, arguing that the scheme would pay out over five years, and therefore does not justify such urgency.
EU Council president António Costa also backed the Parliament in the dispute, warning von der Leyen that bypassing the only directly elected representatives risks “undermining democratic legitimacy” of the Commission.
However, the JURI committee’s decision is merely an “opinion,” and has no binding effect on how the Commission plans to deliver its proposal, meaning von der Leyen can still trigger the emergency clause if she insists.
Nonetheless, Metsola is prepared for the possibility and told von der Leyen that she’s ready to take the Commission to court, which would drag out the process regardless of what the ruling is.
“If the Council adopts this Regulation using Article 122 TFEU as the legal basis,” the EP president warned, “Parliament will examine the act pursuant to Rule 155 of its Rules of Procedure,” which is the first step toward a lawsuit at the ECJ.
Then it would be up to the Court to decide whether the chosen procedure was valid, likely delaying the implementation of the SAFE program substantially.
