Luxembourg  - The European Parliament scored a victory in a power struggle with European Union member states Tuesday after the European Court ruled in its favour in a row over EU refugee policy.

In the ruling, the European Court of Justice - the EU's highest court - judged that the council of EU member states had "exceeded the powers conferred on it" by EU rules when it passed a law allowing it to draw up and change EU lists of so-called "safe third countries" without an explicit vote in the parliament.

The parliament has traditionally been seen as the least powerful of the EU's institutions, but it is pushing for a larger role in EU decision-making processes. Tuesday's court decision is likely to strengthen its hand in the event of future clashes.

The dispute dates to December 2005, when the EU's member states agreed to set common standards for dealing with refugee applications by drawing up a list of countries which they considered to be safe.

Such a list would make it easier for EU states to decide which applicants for refugee status they could reject.

Under the agreement, the council assumed the right both to draw up the list and to amend it later "after consultation of the European Parliament."

But parliamentarians challenged that decision in court, saying that under EU rules, the parliament should have the right to hold a legally binding vote on the issue, rather than simply being "consulted."

The council retorted by arguing that an issue as sensitive as refugee policy "requires quick and effective reactions to changes in the situation of the third countries in question" - a speed which would be sacrificed if any changes to the list had to go through the process of a vote in parliament.

But on Tuesday the court judged that "the rules regarding the manner in which the (EU) institutions arrive at their decisions are laid down in the treaty (founding the EU) and are not at the disposal of the member states or of the institutions themselves."

"Therefore, the council exceeded the powers conferred on it by the treaty ... In those circumstances, the court annuls the contested provisions," the court's statement said.

In the future, the list of safe countries will have to be legally approved by both the council and the parliament, the statement concluded. (dpa)