On Tuesday, the 145 signatories of the resolution received an official response from the Parliament's services stating that their request to refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was inadmissible, as the Council had not yet sought Parliament's approval.
No legal basis has been put forward to justify such a decision. Rightly so, since none exists. (See appendix)
We are witnessing today political interference within the very administration of the European Parliament, aimed at facilitating the adoption of a trade agreement. This amounts to a denial of the right of 145 MEPs to request a vote on this matter now. We condemn this decision. The Conference of Presidents meets this evening to decide on the schedule of the next plenary session. This decision could then be corrected, since it lacks any legal basis.
This decision will have far greater consequences than the adoption of the Mercosur agreement itself. It subjects our institution to the Council's timetable and puts it at its mercy. “This forced move will leave its mark on Europeans and on their image of the EU's democratic system. Preventing MEPs, who represent the peoples of our Union, from asking the European Court of Justice for its opinion on the compatibility of the Mercosur agreement with the Treaties is, to say the least, surprising, not to say scandalous.” protested Benoît Cassart, a farmer and MEP.
The 145 signatories of the resolution call on the Conference of Presidents to carefully examine the consequences of this decision for the credibility of the European Parliament and its ability to exercise its prerogatives in the future.