Court of Justice 11 September 2003, C-211/01 (Commission of the European Communities v Council of the European Union.)

Also known as

The Court of Justice annulled Council Decisions 2001/265/EC and 2001/266/EC because they were incorrectly based on Article 93 EC in addition to Article 71 EC, ruling that the fiscal components of the transport agreements with Bulgaria and Hungary were merely secondary and incidental to the primary transport policy objective. The Court held that the use of an incorrect legal basis requiring unanimity instead of a qualified majority is a substantive defect, as the voting method may affect the content of the act. To ensure legal certainty and the continuity of international commitments, the Court maintained the effects of the annulled decisions until the adoption of new implementing measures.AI