Liberals and Democrats supported the refusal to discharge the Council for the implementation of its budget in 2009 as decided in today's European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg. The Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT) recommended by a large majority to vote against the discharge for the Council, arguing that the Treaty and practice confer exclusive jurisdiction for discharges to Parliament, a jurisdiction disputed by the Council which refuses complete transparency in the publication and justification of expenditures.

Theodoros SKYLAKAKIS (Democratic Alliance, Greece), ALDE shadow rapporteur for the 2009 discharge, said during the debate: "The European Parliament is the only institution to be elected by universal suffrage and has sole authority to grant discharge to the other institutions. The Council must comply with this rule. By refusing to speak before our committee, the Council declines to inform our citizens on how it manages the money entrusted to them by the European taxpayer. To overcome this impasse, there remains recourse to the European Court of Justice and Parliament is not afraid of this test to decide once and for all on its rights. "

Jan MULDER (VVD, Netherlands), President of the Committee on Budgetary Control (CONT), added: "According to the Treaty the European Parliament is the ultimate discharge authority and therefore the Council has to provide all information that the Parliament deems fit to ask. It is deplorable that the Council refuses to do this".

J Chatzimarkakis (FDP, Germany), ALDE coordinator for CONT, concluded: "The Council now urgently has to adjust to European law and abandon its absolutist position. As Committee on Budgetary Control, we do not mean to pillory the Council. But to discharge any institution, we need insights into its accounts. We have repeatedly asked the Council to provide us with this necessary information. As long as the Council refuses to answer the questions the Committee, and thus the European Parliament as the only responsible discharge authority according to the Treaty of Lisbon, is asking, we just cannot give discharge.  It might be that Parliament and Council find themselves in front of the European Court of Justice."