The President of the European Parliament has warned the European Commission that legal action may be taken if the Commission bypasses EU lawmakers in its efforts to create a €150 billion loan program for military rearmament.
In March, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen presented a plan to mobilize a total of €800 billion to increase the EU’s military capabilities. The initiative was justified by claims that Russia poses a major threat to Europe, which justifies a significant and rapid military buildup.
To finance the initiative, the Commission invoked Article 122 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). This article allows for quick decisions in emergency situations without having to go through the regular legislative process, where members of the European Parliament have a say.
In a letter to von der Leyen on Monday, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola urged the Commission to use a different legal basis for the initiative. She also warned that the Parliament could take the matter to court if the request was not complied with.
Implementing the plan without the correct legal basis would end up “putting at risk democratic legitimacy by undermining Parliament’s legislative and scrutiny functions”, the letter said.
Referring to “exceptional” threat
Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier told Euronews that the Commission “will always be available to explain why Article 122 has been chosen as the appropriate legal basis”.
“Europe faces an unprecedented security threat. As stated by President von der Leyen in her Political Guidelines, Article 122 will only be used in exceptional circumstances, as the ones we are currently living in”, Regnier added.
The €150 billion loan program is seen by the Commission as a central part of the broader Readiness 2030 proposal, which aims to invest over €800 billion in EU defense by 2030. The Commission has repeatedly claimed that Russia could be in a position to threaten an EU member state militarily by that date.
However, Russian President Vladimir Putin has consistently dismissed such claims as “nonsense” and argued that they are being used to spread fear in Western Europe and legitimize a sharp increase in military spending.