On Thursday 14 March, the European Parliament challenged the need for an urgent written procedure for the special measure in favour of Tunisia used by the European Commission, asking it to clarify its position.
In the joint resolution they adopted (243 votes in favour, 167 against and 41 abstentions), MEPs explained that the Commission’s initial announcement of €150 million in budgetary support was made as early as 11 June 2023, leaving “sufficient time to use the normal procedure”, and that the timetable for launching the urgent written procedure showed a “lack of respect for parliamentary scrutiny and the comitology procedure”. The disbursement of funds was announced on 1 March (see EUROPE 13363/36).
The European Parliament therefore calls on the Commission to provide a detailed and factual explanation as to why no informal contact took place between the Commission and the Parliament prior to the adoption of the special measure under an urgent written procedure.
During the debate on the evening of Tuesday 12 March, Commissioner Didier Reynders pointed out that the documents had been sent to the European Parliament, along with the relevant information, “before adoption, despite the urgency procedure deemed necessary for adoption in 2023”. This adoption took place on 20 December (see EUROPE 13318/19).
See the resolution: https://aeur.eu/f/bby (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)