On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2022, Section II – European Council and Council
A-10-2024-0003
Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Jonas Sjöstedt
- Voted on · Adopted 431–131–83 · See the decision →
- Full procedure 2023/2131
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Parliament refuses to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2022 budget, citing the Council's continued non-cooperation in the discharge procedure since 2009.¶¶ The resolution calls on the Council to cooperate, resume negotiations, and respect Parliament's prerogatives, and notes issues such as the Hungarian Presidency and unanimity voting.¶¶¶
Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes to refuse discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for 2022 and sets out observations in a resolution.¶¶
Key points
- Refuses to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2022 financial year.¶
- Regrets that the Council has not cooperated since 2009, preventing Parliament from making an informed decision.¶
- Notes that the Council did not answer Parliament's questionnaire of 74 questions and did not participate in the hearing.¶¶
- Emphasizes Parliament's prerogative to grant discharge under Article 319 TFEU and the Financial Regulation.¶
- Finds incomprehensible the Council's view that discharge should be granted to the Commission for the Council budget.¶
- Stresses the practice of granting discharge to each institution and the Commission's inability to oversee other institutions' budgets.¶
- Deplores the Council's lack of political will and its negative effects on trust and democratic scrutiny.¶
- Calls on the Council to follow up on Parliament's recommendations and to resume negotiations at the highest level.¶¶
- Regrets that the Council did not avoid a Presidency led by a Member State under Article 7, leading to abuse and violation of sincere cooperation.¶
- Stresses that observations from the previous discharge resolution remain valid, including on corporate sponsorships and gender imbalance.¶
- Reiterates that unanimity voting in the Council paralyses decision-making and enables blackmail by Member States failing to respect the rule of law.¶