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SECOND REPORT (2025/2147(DEC))

On discharge in respect of the implementation of the general budget of the European Union for the financial year 2024, Section II – European Council and Council

A-10-2026-0258

Committee on Budgetary Control · Rapporteur: Pasquale Tridico

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 16 Oct 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's committee report on discharge for the 2024 budget of the European Council and Council refuses to grant the Secretary-General of the Council discharge. It finds that the Council has refused to cooperate with Parliament on discharge since 2009, including by not answering a 103-question questionnaire and skipping a hearing. It calls on the Council to resume negotiations for a binding working arrangement, to apply the De Capitani ruling on access to documents, and to split its budget into two. It also asks for transparency in IT procurement, balanced geographical representation, and Treaty changes to clarify discharge and reduce unanimity voting.

Committee position. The Committee on Budgetary Control proposes that Parliament refuse to grant the Secretary-General of the Council discharge for the 2024 budget, and sets out its observations in the accompanying resolution.

Key points

  1. Refuses to grant the Secretary-General of the Council discharge for the 2024 budget of the European Council and Council.
  2. Regrets that since 2009 the Council refuses to cooperate on discharge, preventing Parliament from taking an informed decision.
  3. Calls on the Council to resume negotiations without delay for a binding working arrangement on the discharge procedure.
  4. Urges the Council to ensure transparency and oversight in public procurement for IT, cloud migration and external consultancy.
  5. Calls for balanced geographical representation at all administrative levels, especially management posts, and equal opportunity policies.
  6. Notes that the Council did not answer Parliament's 103-question questionnaire of 22 September 2025 and did not attend the 6 November 2025 hearing.
  7. Calls on the Council to fully implement the General Court's 2023 De Capitani ruling on public access to working group documents.
  8. Calls on the Council to follow up on Parliament's discharge recommendations and to respect Parliament's prerogative under Article 319 TFEU.
  9. Considers that a future Treaty revision should clarify the discharge procedure and explicitly empower Parliament to grant discharge to all Union institutions.
  10. Calls on the Council to resume negotiations at the highest level, involving Secretary-Generals and Presidents, and asks the Commission and Council legal services for an opinion on Treaty-based solutions.
  11. Reiterates regret that the European Council and Council budget has not been split into two separate budgets, and calls for compliance.
  12. Calls for targeted Treaty reforms or practical improvements to address unanimity voting, which can paralyse decision-making and leave the Union open to blackmail by member states.

Who is affected

  • The Secretary-General of the Council: refused discharge for the 2024 budget.
  • The Council and European Council: called to cooperate, negotiate and improve transparency.
  • The Commission: asked, with the Council legal service, for an opinion on Treaty-based solutions.
  • Union taxpayers and citizens: the report says they have a right to be informed about the use of public revenue.

Figures and deadlines

  • 103 questions in Parliament's questionnaire to the Council Secretariat.
  • 22 September 2025: date the questionnaire was sent.
  • 3 October 2025: date the Council said it would not answer.
  • 6 November 2025: date of the hearing the Council did not attend.
  • Since 2009: period of the Council's lack of cooperation.
  • 15 years: length of the Council's lack of political willingness to collaborate.
  • 25 January 2023: date of the General Court judgment in Case T-163/21, De Capitani v Council.
  • 29 April 2026: date of Parliament's decision postponing discharge and its resolution.

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