ATHENS 

The European Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs unanimously rejected the ReArm Europe plan, media reports said on Thursday.

The committee voted to support a legal opinion that rejects the European Commission’s attempt to bypass parliament on a €150 billion (about $170.6 billion) rearmament loan fund, the Euractiv news outlet said in its report.

According to the committee's legal opinion, the commission's chosen legal basis, invoking Article 122 of the EU treaty to fast-track approval for the fund, does not meet the threshold for emergency powers and lacks a solid legal foundation, it added.

This non-binding vote could spark a broader institutional clash, it noted, adding that now it is up to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola to decide the next move.

Metsola could escalate the situation by calling a plenary debate, writing a formal letter to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, or even bringing the case to the EU Court of Justice, according to the media outlet.

As announced by von der Leyen in March, the ReArm Europe Plan/Readiness 2030 proposed spending over €800 billion through the use of public funding in defense at the national level, the creation of a new dedicated instrument for Security Action for Europe—SAFE, and the use of the European Investment Bank and private capital.