surrection ’, as mentioned above , on 13 December 1979 , Parliament rejected and returned to the Council a budget that was inconsistent with the political , economic and financial consequences of the creation of the EMS .
Since Parliament only had the negative power to reject the draft , in accordance with the Treaties and the 1975 agreements , the Council stubbornly adopted a new draft endowed with the same incoherence . This forced Parliament to choose between surrendering the besieged citadel or engaging in a new , unprecedented form of institutional revolt , starting the constituent process to reform the Treaties of Rome .
Thus it was that , between 9 July 1981 and 14 February 1984 , on the inspiration of Altiero Spinelli , and building on the transparent and democratic work of all political powers , Parliament debated , drafted and approved a Draft Treaty on European Union , initiating reform that has not yet been completed , notwithstanding the Lisbon Treaty .
With the creation of the Crocodile Club on 9 July 1980 , named after the restaurant in Strasbourg where they met for the first time , nine MEPs , inspired by Altiero Spinelli , launched the challenge of the constituent role of the European Parliament , elected in June 1979 for the first time by universal and direct suffrage .
The initiative arose as a response to the inability of the governments of the then nine Member States ( France , Germany , Italy , Belgium , the Netherlands , Luxembourg , the United Kingdom , Ireland and Denmark ) to take appropriate decisions in the interests of citizens on the issues of real economic , budgetary and foreign policy . This inability was patently represented by the demand issued by British Prime Minister , Margaret Thatcher – ‘ I want my money back ’ – in the clash on European funding .
82