WRITTEN QUESTION E-2338/98

by Marjo Matikainen-Kallström (PPE) to the Commission

(27 July 1998)

Subject: Wider implications of the European Court of Justice's judgment in case C-106/96

On 12 May 1998, the Court of Justice of the European Communities handed down a judgment in case C-106/96 as a result of which the Commission froze the implementation of numerous budget headings on 10 June.

On 1 July Commissioner Liikanen said in a Commission communiqué on the Court's judgment concerning the legal basis for the budget that the Commission would reach conclusions on the matter on 14 July.

I should like to ask Commissioner Liikanen, therefore, what conclusions the Commission reached at the meeting of that date and how the Commission intends to proceed in this matter so as to ensure that the issues and problems relating to the legal basis for budget headings are resolved as quickly as possible.

Joint answer

to Written Questions E-2128/98 and E-2338/98 given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(29 October 1998)

The Commission adopted an immediate protective measure after the Court of Justice ruled that only for non-significant measures could expenditure be charged to the Community budget without an instrument of secondary legislation having first to be adopted. As guardian of the proper implementation of Union legislation, the Commission could not ignore the Court's ruling. As the authority responsible for implementing the budget, it had to ensure that it could implement with complete legal certainty the headings apparently lacking a legal basis in the 1998 budget, and therefore embarked on a detailed examination of all the headings concerned. Once the check was complete, and taking account of the outcome of the Council meeting (Budgets) on 17 July 1998, a number of cases could be identified.

In the case of headings where normal operation resumed in full, the temporary suspension will have led to no more than a momentary slowdown in implementation. Following the Commission's decision to suspend operations on 10 June 1998, the Commission acted to resume implementation of the headings concerned gradually, at the latest by 14 July 1998. Similarly, the implementation of measures acknowledged to be politically sensitive, such as measures to combat violence against children, adolescents and women, measures to deal with illegal and harmful content on the Internet, support for and monitoring of electoral processes, and measures relating to human rights and democracy, resumed immediately after the conciliation meeting on 17 July when the Council (Budgets) was meeting.

In the case of headings which are still partly or totally suspended, those for which a legal basis has been proposed will be implemented as soon as the legal basis is adopted. The level of utilisation of 1998 appropriations will depend on the date of adoption of the legal basis. In any event, if the legal basis is adopted at the end of the year, the corresponding appropriations could in principle be carried over and used next year. The headings where spending cannot resume because no legal basis has been proposed and because they relate to measures which cannot be regarded as autonomous or as preparatory measures or pilot schemes will be examined individually to determine to what extent they can nevertheless be implemented on the principle of catering for the legitimate expectations of potential beneficiaries and safeguarding existing investments. Authorising departments affected by partly or totally suspended headings were contacted to determine how they propose to implement the budget in accordance with the ad hoc measures. The findings were notified to the budgetary authority, in particular Parliament's Committee on Budgets at the plenary meeting in Strasbourg in September.

There remains the special case of the headings concerning the fight against poverty and social exclusion for which the Treaty of Amsterdam could supply the necessary means of establishing the requisite legal bases. These headings were the subject of a joint declaration by the Council and the Commission at the Council meeting (Budgets) on 17 July 1998. On 16 September 1998 the Commission took steps to redirect these measures along truly innovatory lines in relation to the approach developed hitherto, and which will enable them to be regarded as preparatory to Community action in new areas provided for by the Treaty of Amsterdam. New measures can then be implemented.