Joint military procurement risks being challenged at the CJEU

The European Commission's financing of joint military procurement risks being challenged at the Court of Justice of the European Union, according to the text of a letter sent to Ursula von der Leyen and Antonio Costa by Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, a document presented by the Euractiv.com website.

The cited source states that through the respective document Roberta Metsola launched a firm warning addressed to the European Commission, drawing attention to the fact that bypassing the Parliament regarding billions of euros of loans intended for joint purchases of military equipment could trigger legal action at the Court of Justice of the European Union. Basically Metsola asks the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to re-examine the use of Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, which the Community Executive has appealed to speed up the implementation of part of the Rearm EU plan. This article, usually reserved for emergency situations, allows the Commission to adopt legislative proposals quickly, significantly reducing the negotiating time allocated to Parliament.

In this case, the "Security Action for Europe" (SAFE) initiative, launched in March under Article 122, provides for the granting of loans worth euro150 billion for the joint acquisition of defence equipment produced in the EU. However, in April, Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs adopted a legal opinion rejecting the Commission's approach, considering that the legal basis invoked is procedurally inadequate, since the proposal does not meet the necessary conditions for the application of emergency powers.

In this context, Roberta Metsola is considering the escalation of the institutional conflict, intending to submit a referral on behalf of Parliament to the Court of Justice of the EU, in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Legal Affairs. In his letter to both the President of the European Council, Antonio Costa, and Ursula von der Leyen, Metsola stressed that circumventing the standard legislative process risks undermining democratic legitimacy, weakening Parliament's powers in terms of the legislative process and democratic scrutiny.

"If the Council adopts this regulation using Article 122 TFEU as a legal basis, Parliament will examine the act in accordance with Rule 155 of its Rules of Procedure," Metsola warned, a crucial step towards a possible action before the Court of Justice. Ultimately, the European court will have to decide on the validity of the chosen legal basis and settle the power dispute between the European institutions.