2.

In the order, the General Court did not apply Article 263 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union properly, and also infringed Article 72 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament and assessed incorrectly the possibilities of applying Article 45 of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union: — since the appellant, as a former Member of the European Parliament, did not agree with the decision of the Secretary-General of the European Parliament (and the debit note adopted on its basis) and considered that it was unfounded, he exercised his right and fulfilled the requirements laid down in Article 72 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament, submitting a complaint concerning the decision first to the Quaestors and then to the Bureau and the President of the European Parliament; — it was only subsequently, when on 10 September 2015 the appellant received an email from a representative of the European Parliament and with it, amongst other documents, final letter No 311354 of 26 June 2015 from the President of the European Parliament pursuant to Article 72(3) of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament, that the appellant’s right arose to bring an action before the General Court for annulment of the decision of the Secretary-General of the European Parliament and of the debit note adopted on its basis; — it was specifically on the day on which final letter No 311354 of 26 June 2015 from the President of the European Parliament pursuant to Article 72(3) of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament was received, that is to say, on 10 September 2015, that, under the sixth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU, the two-month period began to run within which the appellant could institute proceedings before the General Court for annulment of the decision of the Secretary-General of the European Parliament and of the debit note adopted on its basis; — in view of this and pursuant to the sixth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU, the period for instituting proceedings before the General Court came to an end on 10 December 2015. The application was received at the Registry of the General Court on 4 November 2015. This means that the two-month period for instituting proceedings, laid down in the sixth paragraph of Article 263 TFEU, was not breached and such an action was not lodged ‘out of time’; — in the order, the General Court did not assess at all the documents and circumstances referred to or the provisions of Article 72 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament, provisions which the appellant observed and on the basis of which he lodged a complaint against the decision of the Secretary-General of the European Parliament and the debit note under a pre-litigation procedure; — by the order, the General Court not only infringed the appellant’s rights and interests, but also applied Article 263 TFEU incorrectly, and in addition infringed Article 72 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament; — furthermore, in the order the General Court found incorrectly and without foundation that there was no possibility of applying Article 45 of the Statute of the Court of Justice. The implementation of the procedure for pre-litigation examination of the dispute, the appellant’s active, careful, attentive and conscientious conduct, the time at which documents were received and other circumstances confirm that in the case under consideration, even if it were decided that the period for instituting proceedings was exceeded, the period would have to be renewed, as it was exceeded for important, objective and justifiable reasons, namely observance of the procedure laid down in Article 72 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament (first paragraph of Article 45 of the Statute of the Court of Justice). The appellant could not know that observance of the compulsory procedure laid down in Article 72 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament may mean that he loses his right to institute proceedings before the General Court (second paragraph of Article 45 of the Statute of the Court of Justice). It is to be noted that in the application the appellant also raised later the issue whether the decisions of the Quaestors and the Bureau of the European Parliament adopted pursuant to Article 72 of the Implementing Measures for the Statute for Members of the European Parliament were well founded and lawful.