Case T‑452/15
Andrei Petrov and Others
v
European Parliament
(Member of the European Parliament — Refusal of access to the buildings of the Parliament — Third-country national — Article 21 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights — Discrimination on grounds of ethnic origin — Discrimination on grounds of nationality — Admissibility of a plea — Discrimination on grounds of political opinions — Equal treatment — Misuse of powers)
Summary — Judgment of the General Court (Fourth Chamber), 20 November 2017
Judicial proceedings — Application initiating proceedings — Formal requirements — Brief summary of the pleas in law on which the application is based — Requirement for a specific reference to the provisions on which the action is based — None — Limits — Reliance on infringement of the Treaties as a basis for the action — Insufficient precision
(Statute of the Court of Justice, Arts 21, first para., and 53, first para.; Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 76(d))
EU law — Principles — Equal treatment — Meaning
(Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 21)
EU law — Interpretation — Methods — Interpretation of an measure of general application — Different scope of distinct terms used in the text
EU law — Principles — Equal treatment — Equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin — Concept of ethnic origin
EU law — Principles — Equal treatment — Discrimination on grounds of nationality — Prohibition — Scope — Difference in treatment between nationals of a non-member country as compared with nationals of Member States — Not included
(Art. 18, first para., TFEU; Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 21(2))
Judicial proceedings — Introduction of new pleas during the proceedings — Conditions — Pleas based on matters which have come to light in the course of the procedure
(Rules of Procedure of the General Court, Art. 84(1))
Action for annulment — Pleas in law — Misuse of powers — Meaning — Decision refusing access to the Parliament’s premises to nationals of a non-member country
(Art. 263 TFEU)
European Parliament — Powers — Internal organisation — Power to refuse access to the Parliament’s premises to members of a political party of a non-member country
(Arts 14 TEU and 15(6) (d), TEU; Art. 230, first para., TFEU; Rules of Procedure of the European Parliament, Arts 22, 115 and 157)
In the context of an action for annulment, although an applicant is not obliged expressly to state on which particular rule of law his complaint is based, his line of argument must nevertheless be sufficiently clear for the opposing party and the EU judicature to be able to identify the rule without difficulty. In that regard, ‘infringement of the Treaties’ is merely a general assertion serving to bring the action for annulment which the Court has jurisdiction to hear, but cannot serve to identify the legal basis of a plea.
(see paras 21, 22)
See the text of the decision.
(see paras 27, 53)
Where the legislature and the administrative authority use two different terms in the same text having general application, reasons of consistency and legal certainty preclude those terms being given the same scope. This is a fortiori the case where those terms mean different things in everyday usage.
(see para. 34)
Although nationality is a legal and political link between an individual and a sovereign State, the concept of ethnicity has its origin in the idea that societal groups share the sense of belonging to a common nation, religious faith, language, cultural and traditional origins and backgrounds.
(see para. 35)
The first paragraph of Article 18 TFEU is under Part Two of the Treaty, entitled ‘Non-discrimination and citizenship of the Union’. It concerns situations coming within the scope of EU law in which a national of one Member State is treated in a discriminatory manner as compared with nationals of another Member State solely on the basis of their nationality. Accordingly, that article is not applicable in cases of potential discrimination of nationals of a non-member country as compared with nationals of Member States. Therefore, in so far as Article 21 (2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union must be construed as having the same scope as the first paragraph of Article 18 TFEU, a national of a non-member country is not entitled to rely on Article 21(2) of the Charter.
(see paras 39-41)
See the text of the decision.
(see para. 46)
A decision is vitiated by misuse of powers only if it appears, on the basis of objective, relevant and consistent factors, to have been taken with the purpose of achieving ends other than those stated.
That is not the case as regards the fact that the President of the Parliament adopted a decision preventing members or sympathisers of a Russian party from entering the premises of the institution in order to express themselves in a political meeting, rather than count on the ability of the security services to intervene, since that decision is part of in the particular context characterising during that period the political relations between the Russian Federation and the Union. A fortiori since that decision, being linked to the context in question, was merely temporary in nature.
(see paras 57, 65, 74)
Rule 22 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament confers on the President of the Parliament the powers necessary to ensure general security in the premises of the Parliament, to prevent and put a stop to any disturbance to the proper functioning of parliamentary activities and to safeguard the dignity of the institution. Moreover, the Parliament is not required to privilege in its infrastructures the political activities of a party from a non-member country.
Accordingly, the Parliament is not obliged to receive members or sympathisers of such a party in order to allow them to express their views in its premises. More generally, under Article 14 TEU the right to take part in legislative, budgetary, political review and consultative roles within the walls of the Parliament is reserved for representatives of citizens of the Union elected by universal, direct, free and secret suffrage, whereas specific provisions, such as Article 15(6) (d) TEU and the first paragraph of Article 230 TFEU, in their own specific manner, guarantee the right to be heard for the President of the European Council and the European Commission. Moreover, whilst Rule 115 of the Parliament’s Rules of Procedure provides that debates are public and that committee meetings are also public, Rule 157 of those same Rules of Procedure adds the proviso that members of the public admitted to the galleries are to remain seated and keep silent. Thus, the overall scheme of the Treaties and implementing texts, and also the need to safeguard the unfettered exercise of the powers conferred on the Parliament entail that the Parliament is not the place where any and all members of the public may express themselves entirely as they wish.
(see para. 67)