The European Parliament decided to go ahead and take the Council of the EU to court after being left out of discussions about the major SAFE loan defence scheme, its press service announced on Wednesday.

In a bid to boost Europe’s defence industry and incentivise EU states to rearm, the European Commission activated an emergency procedure to bypass the Parliament.

“The Parliament has today (20 August) lodged a request with the Court of Justice for the annulment of the SAFE regulation,” its press service told Euractiv.

SAFE, a €150 billion defence loan programme, was proposed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in March to stimulate spending as soon as possible. In May, EU ministers gave their final approval, without consulting the European Parliament.

Eighteen EU countries have thus far formally expressed interest in taking out loans for bids amounting to at least €127 billion.

While the Parliament stresses that the “instrument has the full support of Parliament […] It is about the legal basis that was chosen, which undermines democratic legitimacy.”

To skip parliamentary approval, von der Leyen wielded a part of the EU treaties (Article 122 TFEU), normally reserved for emergencies such as the Covid-19 pandemic, which speeds up the legislative process by reducing Parliament’s negotiation time significantly.

“The use of Article 122 for SAFE as a legal basis was, in Parliament’s view, procedurally incorrect and simply unnecessary. It undermines democratic legitimacy in the eyes of the public, and there is no Parliament in the world that would accept that,” the Parliament’s press service told Euractiv.

“That is why, Parliament brings a case on grounds of inadequate legal basis.”

In a letter to von der Leyen, the Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola warned in May that the Commission could be taken to court. Von der Leyen rejected the complaint, arguing that using the emergency clause is “fully justified” as SAFE is “an exceptional and temporary response to an urgent and existential challenge”.

EU countries, which are counting on the loans, are still in the clear for now. In its request to the Court, the Parliament asked to maintain the effects of the regulation until a replacement is adopted.

(cp)