Pringle v. Ireland (E.C.J.)

Abstract

On November 27, 2012, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) issued a landmark decision on the question of the compatibility of the European Stability Mechanism Treaty with European Union law. The Court ruled on the following issues related to the permanent bailout fund: the validity of Decision 2011/199/EU adopted by the European Council to amend Article 136 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TEFU) in accordance with the simplified revision procedures; whether the European Council exceeded its competence by using the simplified revision procedure under Article 48(6) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) to establish the stability mechanism in violation of the treaties; the compatibility of the Treaty Establishing the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) with the treaties founding the European Union; and whether Decision 2011/199/EU encroached on the competence of the Union to coordinate economic and monetary policies of the Member States.