Members of the European Parliament’s Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) wish to refer the European Commission’s withdrawal of its proposal for a regulation on Standard Essential Patents (SEPs) to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). On Tuesday 4 November, they voted in camera in favour of a recommendation by René Repasi (S&D, German) to refer the matter to the CJEU.
Following the publication of the proposal in 2023, the European Parliament adopted its position on the SEP regulations (see EUROPE 13360/10) just one year later. The Council of the EU had not yet adopted its own position due to strong divisions on the subject. However, the withdrawal proposal put forward by European Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné in early 2025 did not achieve a consensus among the Member States. A dozen of them spoke out in favour of resuming work during a debate in May (see EUROPE 13642/6).
Despite all this, the Commission decided to formalise the withdrawal on 16 July.
“This withdrawal is arbitrary and unprecedented”, René Repasi told Agence Europe. According to him, the text was not blocked in the EU Council and Parliament already had a clear position. According to the MEP, who is the permanent rapporteur for disputes within the EU, this is more of a “deregulation” manoeuvre.
“The Court of Justice must now clarify where the limits of the Commission’s right of withdrawal lie and where Parliament’s prerogatives begin”, he added.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, has until 14 November to act on this recommendation. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)