The European Commission has decided on Thursday 24 January to refer Slovenia to the EU Court of Justice for breaching the inviolability of the archives of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the duties of loyal cooperation.
In July 2016, as part of a national investigation targeting central bank officials unrelated to the ECB's tasks, the Slovenian authorities seized information from the Bank of Slovenia, including ECB documents and IT equipment. The ECB had not given any prior authorisation for the seizure of these items and its subsequent attempts to resolve the problem amicably were unsuccessful.
The Commission considers that this unilateral seizure constitutes a breach of the inviolability of the ECB's archives protected by the TFEU Treaty (Protocol No 7). It points out that the procedures provided for in EU law for waiving the privileges and immunities of the Union institutions at the request of the national authorities have not been used in this case.
In addition, the Slovenian authorities did not engage in a constructive discussion with the ECB on this issue as required by the principle of loyal cooperation enshrined in the EU Treaty (Article 4) and did not clarify the questions raised by the European institution from the end of 2016. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)