Judgment — ECLI:EU:T:2018:425
Date: 2018-07-11
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Eighth Chamber
Subject matter: Provisions governing the Institutions
Procedure: Action for annulment - unfounded
Origin: Belgium

Judgment of the General Court (Eighth Chamber) of 11 July 2018 – Pegasus v Parliament (Case T‑57/17) (Institutional law — European Parliament — Decision awarding a grant to a political foundation — Pre-financing set at 33% of the maximum amount of the grant awarded — Obligation to provide a bank pre-financing guarantee — Financial Regulation — Rules of Application of the Financial Regulation — Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding — Proportionality — Equal treatment) 1. EU budget — Financial regulation — Award of pre-financing — Obligation to lodge a bank guarantee — Inapplicability in the event of low value grants — Concept of low value grants (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 966/2012, Art. 134(1); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Arts 185 and 206(1)) (see paras 23-27) 2. EU law — Principles — Right to effective judicial protection — Scope (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 47) (see para. 36) 3. European Parliament — Funding of European political parties — Award of pre-financing — Evaluation of the risk to the budget and the EU’s financial interests — Criteria — Account taken of the difficulty to assess the administrative and financial viability of a newly-created political foundation — Lawfulness (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 2004/2003, Arts 3(2), 4(3), 8 and 10(2); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 202(2); Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation No 2004/2003, Arts 6(3)(a), (c) and (f), 7(3), and Annex 1) (see paras 48-50, 52, 54, 55) 4. European Parliament — Funding of European political parties — Award of grants — Conditions — Obligation to satisfy on the date of bringing the request for financing — Scope (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 2004/2003, Arts 3(1)(b), and 5(3) and (5); Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation No 2004/2003, Arts 3(1) and 4(2), third para.) (see paras 62-64, 66, 67) 5. Actions for annulment — Review of legality — Criteria — Account taken only of elements of fact and law existing at the date on which the contested measure was adopted (Art. 263 TFEU) (see para. 69) 6. European Parliament — Funding of European political parties — Award of grants — Conditions — Respect for the principles on which the Union is founded — Account taken of the lack of information relating to a newly-created political foundation to assess whether the condition is satisfied — Lawfulness (European Parliament and Council Regulations No 2004/2003, Arts 3(2)(c), and 5(6), and No 966/2012, Art. 134(1); Commission Regulation No 1268/2012, Art. 206(1)) (see paras 78, 79, 82, 83, 87, 88) 7. EU law — Principles — Proportionality — Scope (Art. 5(4) TEU) (see para. 94) 8. Judicial proceedings — Application for measures of inquiry and organisation of procedure — Conditions (Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 88(2)) (see para. 104) 9. European Parliament — Funding of European political parties — Award of grants — Conditions — Different treatment of newly-created political foundations compared to older ones — Lawfulness (European Parliament and Council Regulation No 2004/2003; Decision of the Bureau of the European Parliament laying down the procedures for implementing Regulation No 2004/2003) (see paras 117, 121, 122) 10. European Parliament — Funding of European political parties — Refusal of a grant application — Infringement of the rights of free speech and freedom of association — None (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Arts 11 and 12; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 2004/2003) (see para. 129) Re: Application on the basis of Article 263 TFEU seeking the annulment in part of Decision FINS-2017-31 of the European Parliament of 12 December 2016 concerning the award of a grant to the applicant, in so far as that decision restricts the pre-financing to 33% of the maximum amount of the grant and makes its payment subject to the provision of a bank guarantee. Operative part The Court: 1. Dismisses the action; 2. Orders Pegasus to pay the costs.