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Discharge 2023: EU general budget - European Council and Council

TA-10-2025-0079 · P10_TA(2025)0079 · PE764.997

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Parliament postpones granting discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2023 budget, citing the Council's continued refusal to cooperate in the discharge procedure since 2009. The resolution sets out observations on the Council's budget, management, transparency, and accountability, and calls for reforms to improve democratic scrutiny and inter-institutional cooperation.

Key points

  1. Postpones discharge decision for the Council's 2023 budget implementation.
  2. Regrets the Council's lack of cooperation since 2009, preventing Parliament from informed scrutiny.
  3. Notes the Council's budget was EUR 647,908,757 for 2023, a 6% increase from 2022.
  4. Calls for the Council to publish annual breakdowns of travel and representation expenses of senior officials.
  5. Calls for full disclosure of consultancy contracts exceeding EUR 50,000 to prevent misuse of funds.
  6. Urges the Council to establish stricter post-term employment rules for senior officials, including extended cooling-off periods.
  7. Calls for mandatory participation of Member States' Permanent Representations in the EU Transparency Register.
  8. Urges the Council to implement secure digital voting and document-sharing systems.
  9. Calls for enhanced security measures, including mandatory data encryption and regular security audits of digital communication systems.
  10. Calls on the Council to implement a simplified accreditation procedure for other institutions' staff access to its premises.
  11. Stresses the need to revise Article 319 TFEU to explicitly allow Parliament to grant discharge to all institutions individually.

Who is affected

  • The Council and its Secretariat, which must cooperate with Parliament's discharge procedure and implement transparency measures.
  • Member States holding the Council Presidency, which are urged to avoid corporate sponsorship and align with EU values.
  • Senior officials of the Council, subject to stricter post-term employment rules and disclosure requirements.
  • Member States' Permanent Representations, called to join the Transparency Register mandatorily.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 647,908,757: Council's budget for 2023, a 6% increase from 2022.
  • EUR 50,000: threshold for full disclosure of consultancy contracts.
  • EUR 85.5 million: appropriations carried over from 2023 to 2024.
  • EUR 124.1 million: total value of contracts awarded in 2023.
  • 97.0%: overall implementation rate of the Council's budget in 2023.
  • 3,732 initial requests for access to documents in 2023.

Legal basis: Article 319 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union