Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2014:29
Date: 2014-01-23
Language of the case: English
Subject matter: Development cooperation;External relations;Provisions governing the Institutions;Acts of the institutions
Procedure: Action for annulment - successful

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber), 11 June 2014 1. Acts of the institutions — Choice of legal basis — Criteria — European Union measure pursuing a twofold purpose or having a twofold component — Reference to the main or predominant aim or component — Inseparable aims or components — More than one legal basis — Limits — Incompatibility of procedures 2. Development cooperation — Conclusion by the European Union of international agreements — Decision 2012/272 on the signing, on behalf of the Union, of the Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and the Republic of the Philippines — Agreement not containing elements of such a scope as to constitute implementation of another policy — Legal basis — Articles 21 TEU and 208 TFEU — Lawfulness (Arts 21(2)(d) TEU and 208(1) TFEU; European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1905/2006; Council Decision 2012/272; Joint statement by the Council, the Member States, the European Parliament and the Commission, 2006/C 46/01) 1. See the text of the decision. (see para. 34) 2. The Framework Agreement on Partnership and Cooperation between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of the Philippines, of the other part, falls within development cooperation policy in that it contributes to furthering, in particular, pursuit of the objectives referred to in Articles 21(2)(d) TEU and 208(1) TFEU. The provisions of that framework agreement relating to readmission of nationals of the contracting parties, to transport and to the environment do not contain obligations so extensive that they may be considered to constitute objectives distinct from those of development cooperation that are neither secondary nor indirect in relation to the latter objectives. European Union policy in the field of development cooperation is not limited to measures directly aimed at the eradication of poverty under Article 208 TFEU, but also pursues the objectives referred to in Article 21(2) TEU, such as the objective, set out in Article 21(2)(d), of fostering the sustainable economic, social and environmental development of developing countries, with the primary aim of eradicating poverty. As the eradication of poverty has many aspects, achievement of those objectives requires — according to paragraph 12 of the statement on European Union development policy: ‘The European Consensus’ — the implementation of many development activities. Migration (including the fight against illegal migration), transport and the environment are integrated into the development policy defined in the European Consensus. This broad notion of development cooperation has in particular been given concrete expression by the adoption of Regulation No 1905/2006 establishing a financing instrument for development cooperation, which, in order to support pursuit of the same objectives, provides for implementation of European Union assistance by means of geographic and thematic programmes involving numerous aspects. (see paras 37, 42, 43, 47, 49, 59)