CELEX: C2000/047/59
Language: en
Date: 2000-02-19 00:00:00
Title: Case T-327/99: Action brought on 19 November 1999 by the Front National against the European Parliament

C 47/34               EN                      Official Journal of the European Communities                                      19.2.2000
— the Commission and the EMEA committed further errors                   Pleas in law and main arguments
    of law, namely by relying upon ‘exceptional circumstances’
    to justify authorisation of deferiprone pursuant to                  The applicant, a political organisation within the European
    Article 13 of Regulation No 2309/93, when there were no              Parliament, states that on 19 July 1999 the constitution of the
    such ‘exceptional circumstances’ within the meaning of               ‘Groupe Technique des Députés Indépendants (TDI) — Groupe
    Article 13;                                                          mixte’ was communicated to the President of the Parliament,
                                                                         in accordance with Rule 29 of the Parliament’s Rules of
— The Commission and the EMEA failed to take account of,                 Procedure. At the plenary sitting on 20 July all the political
    and properly apply, the principle of proportionality as well         groups opposed the creation of that mixed group. The
    as the precautionary principle.                                      Committee on Constitutional Affairs and the Rules of Pro-
                                                                         cedure was therefore called upon to furnish an opinion on the
                                                                         conformity of that new group with Rule 29(1) of the Rules of
                                                                         Procedure. It proposed an interpretation to the effect that it is
                                                                         not possible, within the meaning of that rule, to accept the
                                                                         constitution of a group which openly denies possessing any
                                                                         political character and the existence of any political affinities
                                                                         between its members. On 14 September 1999 the matter was
                                                                         submitted to a vote of the Parliament, which, by a simple
                                                                         majority, adopted the interpretation proposed by the Com-
Action brought on 19 November 1999 by the Front                          mittee. It is that decision of the Parliament which is contested
         National against the European Parliament                        in the present case.
                        (Case T-327/99)                                  The decision likewise forms the subject-matter of other actions
                                                                         brought by Members of the European Parliament in Cases
                                                                         T-222/99, T-222/99 R (1) and T-329/99.
                         (2000/C 47/59)
                                                                         In support of its action, the applicant pleads as follows:
                   (Language of the case: French)                        Illegality as to form
An action against the European Parliament was brought before             — The nature of the contested measure is such that it amounts
                                                                             to more than a mere interpretation and constitutes a
the Court of First Instance of the European Communities on
                                                                             retroactive decision dissolving a political group. However,
19 November 1999 by the Front National, having its seat at
Saint-Cloud (France), represented by Alain Nivière, of the Lyon              at no time during any previous period of its existence as a
                                                                             legislative body has the European Parliament ever exercised
Bar, 155 Rue Vendôme, Lyon.
                                                                             the slightest control over the existence of political diver-
                                                                             gences within groups.
The applicant claims that the Court should:
                                                                         — The plenary sitting of the Parliament did not vote on
                                                                             the entire text of the opinion of the Committee on
— annul the decision of the European Parliament dated
                                                                             Constitutional Affairs; in particular, it did not deal with
    14 September 1999 announcing the dissolution of the                      matters contained in the specific part of the decision
    Groupe Technique des Députés Indépendants;                               relating to the dissolution of the TDI Group.
— reinstate the Parliamentary members of that group, restor-             — The refusal to allow any spokesperson to speak on behalf
    ing to them all their rights and prerogatives, both material             of the group concerned at the plenary sitting violated the
    and non-material, with effect from 19 July 1999, the date                principles of the right to a fair hearing and the audi alteram
    on which it was declared that their group was constituted;               partem rule.
— order the reinstatement in their careers of the persons                Illegality as to substance
    placed at the disposal of the group, in such a way that
    those persons may be restored to the position which they             — Rule 29 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure was
    should have occupied in indexing terms, in accordance                    wrongly applied, inasmuch as that rule does not lay down
    with the grades and steps applicable to them as assistants,              any special procedure concerning the recognition of a
    technical staff and secretaries of a Parliamentary group;                group. Consequently, the constitution of a group cannot
                                                                             be subjected to any scrutiny regarding the substance of
                                                                             political affinities.
— order the payment of the various allowances paid to
    political groups pursuant to the rules applicable to all             — The principle of equality has been infringed, in that to
    other political groups, with effect from the date of the                 accord the status of a non-affiliated Member of the
    declaration made by the Groupe Technique des Députés                     European Parliament is discriminatory by comparison with
    Indépendants, namely 19 July 1999;                                       that of a member of an officially declared political group.
                                                                             Such a distinction does not exist to the same extent under
— order the European Parliament to pay the costs.                            the parliamentary laws of the Member States.
 ---pagebreak--- 19.2.2000            EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                          C 47/35
— The amendments to the Rules of Procedure were an abuse                   and in a refusal to accept the exercise of a ‘dictatorship by
   of process, since they were effected, without exception, to             large groups’.
   the detriment of the same Members of the Parliament, in
   particular members of the applicant party.                         — Lastly, it follows from the general principles of law, in
                                                                           particular the right to equal treatment, that the Parliament
                                                                           is bound to guarantee to each of its Members rights which
— The contested measure lacks any legal basis, in that the                 are equal to those enjoyed by all the other Members. The
   political independence of the members of the mixed group                contested measure infringes that principle.
   does not preclude the existence of a certain political affinity
   between them. That affinity is to be found in the defence          (1) In Case T-222/99 R, the President of the Court of First Instance,
   of the rights of Members of the Parliament, in the assertion           by order of 25 November 1999, ordered the suspension of
   of the principle of equality between members of minority               operation of the contested measure adopted by the European
   parliamentary groups and members of majority groups,                   Parliament.