Cork / Brussels, 01/02/2002 (Agence Europe) - European Parliament President Pat Cox announced on Friday during a video conference diffused from Cork at the EP press room in Brussels, that he wished to reaffirm the primacy of politics by deciding not to follow the recommendation of the Parliament's legal committee to exercise his right (acquired by 1O votes to 7) to challenge a decision of the EU Council before the Court of Justice. The EU Council's decision was to choose Article 308 of the Treaty as a legal basis for the regulation on the European Company Statute as it provides for EP consultation, while the European Commission had proposed Article 95, which attributes codecision to the latter (see EUROPE of 24 January, p.14).
After consulting widely over recent days within and outside the Parliament, Pat Cox explained that he had decided to carry out a "political act of faith", bearing in mind not only the commitments of the Spanish Presidency on continuing the Lisbon Strategy but also the passage in the Laeken Declaration that affirms Article 308 should be reviewed in the light of the body of case law. He added that he hoped this act of faith would not be "misunderstood", and stressed that, although he had chosen to give priority to "politics and not law", the Council should not imagine that the Parliament is an "instant pushover". This decision is an "act of faith in Barcelona", said Mr Cox, who went on to add that he will be explaining it himself, that very day, to President Aznar. (In a press release, he specified that the EP will call next week for a plenary declaration from the Spanish Presidency).
On Thursday evening, Mr Cox called for the opinions of the presidents of the political groups on this issue, which was brought out of deadlock in Nice in December 2000 after thirty years of ups and downs. Among the spokespersons of the groups that expressed their views on Friday, only those of the EPP-ED and the Greens pointed out that their groups had taken a stance for action to be taken at the Court of Justice. The first commented: "It is better to have legal certainty after 31 years than legal uncertainty after 30!".
The Spanish Presidency obviously welcomed this decision. "I wish to thank Pat Cox in public for his attitude, because it will allow this agreement to be applied and will prevent us from being lost in legal debates on competences which, at this time, do not I believe interest European citizens", commented Council President Josep Piqué, in Madrid.