{"id":360041,"date":"2025-08-20T18:07:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T18:07:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/360041\/"},"modified":"2025-08-20T18:07:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T18:07:17","slug":"european-parliament-sues-council-over-e150-billion-defence-loan-scheme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/360041\/","title":{"rendered":"European Parliament sues Council over \u20ac150 billion defence loan scheme"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe Parliament has today (20 August) lodged a request with the Court of Justice for the annulment of the SAFE regulation,\u201d its press service told Euractiv.\n<\/p>\n

\nSAFE, a \u20ac150 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<\/a>, without consulting the European Parliament.\n<\/p>\n

\nEighteen EU countries<\/a> have thus far formally expressed interest in taking out loans for bids amounting to at least<\/a> \u20ac127 billion.\n<\/p>\n

\nWhile the Parliament stresses that the \u201cinstrument has the full support of Parliament […] It is about the legal basis that was chosen, which undermines democratic legitimacy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nTo 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\u2019s negotiation time significantly.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe use of Article 122 for SAFE as a legal basis was, in Parliament\u2019s 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,\u201d the Parliament’s press service told Euractiv.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThat is why, Parliament brings a case on grounds of inadequate legal basis.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nIn a letter to von der Leyen, the Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola warned<\/a> in May that the Commission could be taken to court. Von der Leyen rejected the complaint, arguing<\/a> that using the emergency clause is \u201cfully justified\u201d as SAFE is \u201can exceptional and temporary response to an urgent and existential challenge\u201d.\n<\/p>\n

\nEU 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.\n<\/p>\n

\n(cp)\n<\/p>\n

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