Text tabled : A7-0185/2012

  Siiri Oviir (ALDE), in writing. – (ET) I supported the proposal by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to amend its statutes, considering the great increase in the Court’s workload and the need to improve the organisation of work so as to increase the number of resolved court cases. Despite the Court’s efforts, through which it has resolved more and more cases each year, the number of cases waiting to be heard is increasing at a continuous rate. This, however, is largely the result of the enlargement of the European Union and the greater integration between Member States, which are giving rise to various disputes. To ensure that the ECJ is able to cope with the increase in its workload, there will be an inevitable need to increase the number of judges. Here, too, I would like to commend the ECJ for its current efforts to process cases more speedily; for example, the Court’s Rules of Procedure have been amended to permit the handling of intellectual property cases through oral proceedings.