"We are at a crucial stage that could redefine Parliament and Council relations, now prepared to agree to a new procedure to exchange information during the discharge process. We are convinced that both institutions share the same interest and objective: to work together to ensure citizens a better and more transparent use of EU funds, refraining from the sterile institutional battles of the past." said Luigi de Magistris (IDV, Italy), chairman of the Budgetary control Committee (CONT), after today's positive vote of the European Parliament that granted discharge to the Council, following the latter's expression of willingness to review the way both institutions assess the respective financial management.

The European Parliament was threatening again to withhold Council discharge, as it did last year, if the Council did not show the readiness to reassess the way both institutions scrutinise their respective budget, until now covered by a ‘gentlemen's agreement' dating back to 22 April 1970, in which the Council and the Parliament undertook not to inspect each other's administrative spending.

"We congratulate the Spanish Presidency for contributing, more than any previous presidency in the past 40 years, to a little revolution of transparency." said Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (FDP, Germany) ALDE coordinator of the CONT. "The EP has not been able to look too closely at Council's budget.  but in future, due to the Lisbon Treaty, the accountability of the Council in the realm of Foreign and Security Policy has been made clearer.  We need to encourage this move to greater transparency in the Council."

Note to the editor:
The EP had threatened to withhold Council discharge over its use of administrative expenditure for CFSP operations, a subject that is now at the centre of institutional negotiations on parliamentary accountability of the new European External Action Service (EEAS).

Parliament decided today to grant discharge to the Council although the vote on the accompanying resolution will only be put to the vote in June to allow for adjustments following the new situation.