The Courts of the European Union do not have jurisdiction to hear actions for damages brought against the Euro Group, an informal body which acts as a 'bridge' between national, EU and intergovernmental bodies, said Advocate General Giovanni Pitruzzella in his Opinion delivered on Thursday 28 May (Joined Cases C-597, 598, 603 & 604/18).
In July 2018, the General Court dismissed the compensation claims of depositors in Laïki and Bank of Cyprus or shareholders or bondholders of those banks (see EUROPE 12062/30). The complainants considered that they were adversely affected by the Euro Group statement of March 2013 and the EU Council Decision (2013/236) of April 2013 which had led to the rescue plan for Cyprus and the restructuring of the Cypriot banking sector.
The EU Council nevertheless appealed to the Court of Justice of the European Union because the General Court had rejected the pleas of inadmissibility raised by the EU Council in respect of the Euro Group. In his Opinion, the Advocate General proposes that the Court should set aside the judgments of the General Court, in so far as they dismiss the pleas of inadmissibility.
Mr Pitruzzella analyses the constitutional architecture of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU): the Union has exclusive competence for monetary policy, while economic policy remains the responsibility of the Member States and involves three operational levels (national, Union, intergovernmental).
The Euro Group, as an informal body, reflects a particular form of intergovernmentalism present in the EMU architecture. According to the Advocate General, although the Treaty of Lisbon recognised its existence outside the legal framework of the Union, it did not alter its legal nature as a 'bridge' between the Member States and the Union.
In that regard, actions brought against the Euro Group before the Courts of the Union are inadmissible. However, the liability of the Union arising from measures implementing decisions of the Euro Group cannot be excluded. Mr Pitruzzella is of the opinion that the individuals and companies concerned can thus seek redress from the EU bodies, in particular the EU Council, but possibly also the Commission, which implements the decisions of the Euro Group.
See the conclusions: https://bit.ly/2ZK826L (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)