The court-room drama will take place in the Court of Justice in Luxembourg
Published:
1 April 2004 y., Thursday
The battle between the European Commission and the member states over the euro rules is due to commence in late-April, it emerged today.
The European Court of Justice confirmed in a statement that the first hearing in the case would be heard on 28 April in Luxembourg.
Sources at the Court said that legal teams for both parties will plead their case orally before judges in a case that could be settled as early as mid-July. But officials at the Court were unable to confirm how many judges would hear the case.
In cases of this nature, usually only one hearing takes place before a decision is made.
The case was brought by the Commission in January after finance ministers decided to suspend disciplinary action against France and Germany for breaking the rules that underpin the euro.
These rules state that countries in the euro zone - the 12 member states that share the single currency - must not run a budget deficit above three percent of gross domestic product (GDP) over a year.
This deficit ceiling has been repeatedly broken by Paris and Berlin - the euro zone's two biggest economies. The Commission therefore recommended that a disciplinary procedure be activated that could end in billion euro fines being levied on France and Germany.
But in a row that pitted smaller countries against the two economic giants, France and Germany persuaded other finance ministers to suspend the procedure.
This decision by finance ministers prompted the Commission - which is responsible for upholding the euro rules - to take the Council of member states to court.
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