European Council Decision of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro (2011/199/EU)
Grade B
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Address https://gelex.eu/eli/EU/decision/2011/199@2011-03-25/en
THE EUROPEAN COUNCIL,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 48(6) thereof,
Having regard to the proposal for revising Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union submitted to the European Council by the Belgian Government on 16 December 2010,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Parliament,
Having regard to the opinion of the European Commission,
After obtaining the opinion of the European Central Bank,
Whereas:
(1) Article 48(6) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) allows the European Council, acting by unanimity after consulting the European Parliament, the Commission and, in certain cases, the European Central Bank, to adopt a decision amending all or part of the provisions of Part Three of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). Such a decision may not increase the competences conferred on the Union in the Treaties and its entry into force is conditional upon its subsequent approval by the Member States in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements.
(2) At the meeting of the European Council of 28 and 29 October 2010, the Heads of State or Government agreed on the need for Member States to establish a permanent crisis mechanism to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area as a whole and invited the President of the European Council to undertake consultations with the members of the European Council on a limited treaty change required to that effect.
(3) On 16 December 2010, the Belgian Government submitted, in accordance with Article 48(6), first subparagraph, of the TEU, a proposal for revising Article 136 of the TFEU by adding a paragraph under which the Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole and stating that the granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality. At the same time, the European Council adopted conclusions about the future stability mechanism (paragraphs 1 to 4).
(4) The stability mechanism will provide the necessary tool for dealing with such cases of risk to the financial stability of the euro area as a whole as have been experienced in 2010, and hence help preserve the economic and financial stability of the Union itself. At its meeting of 16 and 17 December 2010, the European Council agreed that, as this mechanism is designed to safeguard the financial stability of the euro area as whole, Article 122(2) of the TFEU will no longer be needed for such purposes. The Heads of State or Government therefore agreed that it should not be used for such purposes.
(5) On 16 December 2010, the European Council decided to consult, in accordance with Article 48(6), second subparagraph, of the TEU, the European Parliament and the Commission, on the proposal. It also decided to consult the European Central Bank. The European Parliament, the Commission and the European Central Bank, respectively, adopted opinions on the proposal.
(6) The amendment concerns a provision contained in Part Three of the TFEU and it does not increase the competences conferred on the Union in the Treaties,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
The following paragraph shall be added to Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union:
3. The Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism to be activated if indispensable to safeguard the stability of the euro area as a whole. The granting of any required financial assistance under the mechanism will be made subject to strict conditionality..
Article 2
Member States shall notify the Secretary-General of the Council without delay of the completion of the procedures for the approval of this Decision in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements. This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2013, provided that all the notifications referred to in the first paragraph have been received, or, failing that, on the first day of the month following receipt of the last of the notifications referred to in the first paragraph.
Article 3
This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Done at Brussels, 25 March 2011. For the European Council The President H. van Rompuy
Versions
Cited by
- Decision No 259/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2013 amending Decision No 574/2007/EC with a view to increasing the co-financing rate of the External Borders Fund for certain Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability Act · Grade B
On 2 February 2012, the finance ministers of the euro-area Member States signed the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism. That Treaty follows European Council Decision 2011/199/EU of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro. Under that Treaty, the European Stability Mechanism is the primary provider of financial assistance to euro-area Member States from its entry into force on 8 October 2012. Therefore, this Decision should take the European Stabil
- Regulation (EU) No 1311/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1083/2006 as regards certain provisions relating to financial management for certain Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability Regulation · Grade B
On 11 July 2011, the finance ministers of the 17 euro area Member States signed the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). Under that Treaty, which follows the European Council Decision 2011/199/EU of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro, the ESM will assume the tasks currently fulfilled by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM), by 2013. The ESM should therefore already be
- Council Regulation (EU) 2015/1360 of 4 August 2015 amending Regulation (EU) No 407/2010 establishing a European financial stabilisation mechanism Regulation · Grade B
Moreover, since the establishment of the European financial stabilisation mechanism (EFSM), by European Council Decision 2011/199/EU a new paragraph was added to Article 136 of the Treaty, clarifying under which conditions Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism for the euro area. The European Stability Mechanism (ESM) was set up by the Member States whose currency is the euro as the main stability mechanism for the euro area.
- Decision No 258/2013/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 March 2013 amending Decisions No 573/2007/EC and No 575/2007/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Decision 2007/435/EC with a view to increasing the co-financing rate of the European Refugee Fund, the European Return Fund and the European Fund for the Integration of third-country nationals as regards certain provisions relating to financial management for certain Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability Act · Grade B
On 2 February 2012, the finance ministers of the euro-area Member States signed the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism. That Treaty follows European Council Decision 2011/199/EU of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro. Under that Treaty, the European Stability Mechanism is the primary provider of financial assistance to euro-area Member States from its entry into force on 8 October 2012. Therefore, this Decision should take the European Stabil
- Regulation (EU) No 1312/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2011 amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1698/2005 as regards certain provisions relating to financial management for certain Member States experiencing or threatened with serious difficulties with respect to their financial stability Regulation · Grade B
On 11 July 2011, the finance ministers of the 17 euro area Member States signed the Treaty establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM). That Treaty follows the European Council Decision 2011/199/EU of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro. It is anticipated that, by 2013, the ESM will assume the tasks currently assumed by the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) and the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism (EFSM).
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
This reference for a preliminary ruling concerns, first, the validity of European Council Decision 2011/199/EU of 25 March 2011 amending Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union with regard to a stability mechanism for Member States whose currency is the euro (OJ 2011 L 91, p. 1), and, secondly, the interpretation of Articles 2 TEU, 3 TEU, 4(3) TEU, 13 TEU, Articles 2(3) TFEU, 3(1)(c) and (2) TFEU, 119 TFEU to 123 TFEU and 125 TFEU to 127 TFEU, and the general principles of effective judicial protection and legal certainty.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
Decision 2011/199
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
The European Parliament, the European Commission and the European Central Bank (the ECB) each issued an opinion on the proposal, on 23 March, 15 February and 17 March 2011 respectively. Decision 2011/199 was adopted on 25 March 2011.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
On 13 April 2012 Mr Pringle brought before the High Court (Ireland) an action against the defendants in the main proceedings in support of which he claimed, first, that Decision 2011/199 was not lawfully adopted pursuant to the simplified revision procedure provided by Article 48(6) TEU because it entails an alteration of the competences of the European Union contrary to the third paragraph of Article 48(6) TEU and that Decision 2011/199 is inconsistent with provisions of the EU and FEU Treaties concerning economic and monetary union and with general principles of European Union law.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
Is … Decision 2011/199… valid: having regard to the use of the simplified revision procedure pursuant to Article 48(6) TEU and, in particular, whether the proposed amendment to Article 136 TFEU involved an increase in the competences conferred on the Union in the Treaties? having regard to the content of the proposed amendment, in particular whether it involves any violation of the Treaties or of the general principles of law of the Union?
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
By its first question, the referring court seeks to ascertain whether Decision 2011/199 is valid in so far as it amends Article 136 TFEU by providing for the insertion, on the basis of the simplified revision procedure under Article 48(6) TEU, of an Article 136(3) relating to the establishment of a stability mechanism.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
Next, it must be stated that Decision 2011/199 concerns the insertion of a new provision of primary law in the FEU Treaty, namely paragraph 3 of Article 136 TFEU.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
It follows from the foregoing that the Court has jurisdiction to examine the validity of Decision 2011/199 in the light of the conditions laid down in Article 48(6) TEU.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
Ireland claims that the question referred for a preliminary ruling is inadmissible because, first, in accordance with the case‑law established in Case C‑188/92 TWD Textilwerke Deggendorf [1994] ECR I‑833, the applicant in the main proceedings should have brought a direct action under Article 263 TFEU for the annulment of Decision 2011/199 within the time‑limit for proceedings laid down in the sixth paragraph of that article and, secondly, he should in any event have brought his action to challenge the validity of that decision before the national courts within a reasonable time. Mr Pringle did
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
In the present case, it is not evident that the applicant in the main proceedings had beyond doubt standing to bring an action for the annulment of Decision 2011/199 under Article 263 TFEU.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
It is necessary to examine, first, whether the amendment of the FEU Treaty envisaged by Decision 2011/199 concerns solely provisions of Part Three of the FEU Treaty and, secondly, whether it increases the competences conferred on the Union in the Treaties.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
It must be stated that Decision 2011/199 amends a provision of Part Three of the FEU Treaty, namely Article 136 TFEU, and thereby formally satisfies the condition stated in the first and second subparagraphs of Article 48(6) TEU that the simplified revision procedure may concern solely provisions of that Part Three.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
However, the referring court is unsure whether the revision of the FEU Treaty does not also affect provisions of Part One of that treaty. It seeks to ascertain whether Decision 2011/199 encroaches on the competence of the Union in the area of monetary policy and in the area of the coordination of the economic policies of the Member States.
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
It must therefore be determined, first, whether Decision 2011/199, in so far as it amends Article 136 TFEU by adding a paragraph 3 which provides that [t]he Member States whose currency is the euro may establish a stability mechanism, grants to Member States a competence in the area of monetary policy for the Member States whose currency is the euro. If that were the case, the Treaty amendment concerned would encroach on the Union’s exclusive competence as laid down in Article 3(1)(c) TFEU and, since the latter provision is to be found in Part One of the FEU Treaty, such an amendment could be
- Judgment of the Court (Full Court) 27 November 2012 Judgment · Grade B
As regards, secondly, the instruments envisaged in order to attain the objective concerned, Decision 2011/199 states only that the stability mechanism will grant any required financial assistance; it contains no other information on the operation of that mechanism. The grant of financial assistance to a Member State however clearly does not fall within monetary policy.