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SECOND REPORT (2024/2021(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2023, Section II – European Council and Council

A-10-2025-0167

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Joachim Stanisław Brudziński

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✦ In shortFull textProcedure & committee votes
✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

Written by a language model from the full text only; every figure comes from the text. The paragraph links open the paragraph a statement rests on — check the text itself before relying on it.

Parliament refuses to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2023 budget, citing the Council's continued non-cooperation since 2009. It demands the Council cooperate with the discharge procedure, resume negotiations, and follow up on Parliament's recommendations. It calls for separating the European Council and Council budgets and for treaty reforms to enhance transparency and democratic accountability.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes to refuse discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for 2023, with observations in a resolution.

Key points

  1. Refuses to grant discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2023 financial year.
  2. Regrets the Council's refusal to answer Parliament's questionnaire and to participate in the hearing, preventing informed scrutiny.
  3. Emphasizes Parliament's prerogative under Article 319 TFEU to grant discharge and the Council's obligation to cooperate.
  4. Stresses that the Council's non-cooperation damages trust and discredits democratic scrutiny of the Union budget.
  5. Calls on the Council to follow up on Parliament's recommendations and to resume negotiations at the highest level.
  6. Reiterates the need to separate the European Council and Council budgets for transparency and reliable cost information.
  7. Regrets Hungary's obstructive stance in the European Council and calls for treaty reforms to enhance democratic decision-making.
  8. Urges the Council to ensure the Presidency is conducted in line with Union law and deplores Hungary's misconduct of the Presidency.

Who is affected

  • The Council and its Secretary-General: discharge refused, must cooperate and resume negotiations.
  • The European Council: budget separation and transparency reforms demanded.
  • Hungary: its conduct in the European Council and Presidency is deplored.

Legal basis: Article 314(10) and Articles 317, 318 and 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union