Action brought on 8 March 2006 - European Parliament v Council of the European Union

(Case C-133/06)

Language of the case: French

Parties

Applicant: European Parliament (represented by: H. Duintjer Tebbens, A. Caiola and A. Auersperger Matić, Agents)

Defendant: Council of the European Union

Form of order sought

The applicant claims that the Court should:

annul, under Article 230 EC, Articles 29(1) and (2) and 36(3) of Council Directive 2005/85/EC of 1 December 2005 on minimum standards on procedures in Member States for granting and withdrawing refugee status ¹;

alternatively, annul Directive 2005/85/EC in its entirety;

order the Council of the European Union to pay the costs.

Pleas in law and main arguments

The European Parliament raises four pleas in law in support of its application: infringement of the EC treaty, the Council's lack of competence to enact the provisions in question, breach of an essential procedural requirement and, more precisely, failure to state reasons for the contested provisions and breach of the duty to cooperate in good faith.

By reserving to itself the adoption and amendment by the consultation procedure of the minimum common list of third countries regarded as safe countries of origin and of the list of European safe third countries, the Council infringed the first indent of Article 67(5) EC providing for passage to the co-decision procedure after the legislation defining the basic principles and common rules in respect of the policy on asylum and refugees has been adopted. The Council has no power to enact, in secondary legislation, a legal basis for the adoption of successive acts of secondary legislation, in so far as they do not constitute implementing measures.

In addition, the Council has not stated reasons sufficient in law for that reservation as to legislation contained in Articles 29(1) and (2) and 36(3) of Directive 2005/85/EC, which constitutes a breach of an essential procedural requirement. Finally, the Council failed to comply with the duty, under Article 10 EC, to cooperate in good faith with the European Parliament, since the contested provisions disregard the role of co-legislator conferred by the EC Treaty on the European Parliament and despite the legislative resolution of 27 September 2005, adopted in the course of the consultation procedure concerning the directive in question, by which the Parliament drew that point to the Council's attention.

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¹ - OJ 2005 L 326, p. 13.