But the crunch point arrived on 20 July 1999,[1] when a Group called "TGI" ("TDI" in French, from "technique des deputés indépendants"[10]) was formed.
The Group consisted of the spectacularly unlikely partnership of the far-right French Front National, the regionalist-separatist Lega Nord of Italy, and liberal Italian Bonino List.
The first one (Case T-222/99R[12]) was based on Article 242[12] of the EC Treaty and was intended to suspend the enforcement of the act of 14 September 1999.
[17] Meanwhile the second appeal (Case T-222/99) had been joined by two others, one (Case T-327/99[10]) from the Front National as a corporate entity, the other (T-329/99[10]) from the Bonino List as a corporate entity and from Emma Bonino, Marco Pannella, Marco Cappato, Gianfranco Dell’Alba, Benedetto Della Vedova, Olivier Dupuis and Maurizio Turco as individuals.
[25][26] The Front National appeal dragged out for another six months,[27][28] but in the end it was also thrown out (2004/C 217/01[27][28]) and the applicant ordered to pay costs on 29 June 2004.
During their deliberations in December 1999,[12] the Committee on Constitutional Affairs laid down the rationale for the existence of Groups: Most Parliaments, for obvious reasons of rationalising their work, limit the scope for individual members to act singly.
A balance must be struck between the rights of individual members and the need to ensure that the parliament can work effectively...The specific role given to political groups in this overall balance of rights and responsibilities is based on the fact that they bring together members according to their political affinity.
[12]In August 2003,[29] the Committee recommended changes to the Rules of Procedure which would establish the benefits and funding to be provided to the Groups, and similarly those for the Non-Inscrits (the ungrouped members).
In forming a group together under this Rule, Members concerned accept by definition that they have political affinity.
Only when this is denied by the Members concerned is it necessary for Parliament to evaluate whether the group has been constituted in conformity with the Rules.