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Discharge 2022: EU general budget - European Council and Council

TA-9-2024-0288 · P9_TA(2024)0288 · PE753.479

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✦ In short · AI summary of this text, generated 4 Sept 2026

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Parliament postpones its decision on granting discharge to the Secretary-General of the Council for the 2022 budget and sets out observations in a resolution. It regrets the Council's continued refusal to cooperate in the discharge procedure, which prevents Parliament from scrutinising the Council's budget implementation. It calls on the Council to resume negotiations, implement transparency recommendations, and address gender imbalance and other issues.

Key points

  1. Postpones discharge for the Council's 2022 budget due to the Council's non-cooperation since 2009.
  2. Regrets the Council's refusal to answer Parliament's questionnaire and to participate in the discharge hearing.
  3. Calls on the Council to resume negotiations at the highest level to break the deadlock.
  4. Urges the Commission and member states to accelerate ammunition delivery to Ukraine and provide air defence systems.
  5. Calls for review of Council's appointment prerogatives, independent expert panels, and gender-balanced nominations for the Court of Auditors.
  6. Urges the Council to implement Ombudsman recommendations and Court rulings on legislative transparency.
  7. Calls for qualified majority voting whenever the Treaties allow, and for mandatory transparency register participation by Permanent Representations.
  8. Calls on rotating presidencies to stop corporate sponsorship and for a Council budget for presidencies.
  9. Notes the Council's 2022 budget was EUR 611 473 556, up 2.9% from 2021, and criticises the increase in the President of the European Council's travel budget.
  10. Regrets gender imbalance in senior management (35% women) and geographical imbalances in staff.
  11. Calls for measures to achieve gender balance, provide information on disabilities, and ensure fair geographical distribution.
  12. Calls for revision of Article 319 TFEU to explicitly allow Parliament to grant discharge to all institutions individually.

Who is affected

  • The European Council and the Council: subject to discharge postponement and calls for reform.
  • The Secretary-General of the Council: discharge decision postponed.
  • Member states: urged to accelerate ammunition delivery and nominate gender-balanced candidates for the Court of Auditors.
  • Rotating Council presidencies: asked to stop corporate sponsorship.
  • Council staff: calls for gender balance and better reporting on disabilities.

Figures and deadlines

  • EUR 11,6 billion: Council budget under MFF heading 7 in 2022.
  • EUR 0,6 billion: Council's budget, about 5.3% of total administrative expenditure.
  • EUR 611 473 556: Council budget for 2022, up 2.9% from 2021.
  • EUR 123 863 392: total amount of 42 contracts signed in 2022.
  • EUR 45 435 994: total payments for buildings in 2022, up 27.2%.
  • EUR 27 096 067: actual payments for IT systems, about 50% of final appropriations.
  • 24,5 million: visits to Council's website in 2022.

Legal basis: Article 287, 314(10), 317, 318, 319 TFEU