Proposal for a European Parliament and Council Decision establishing an action programme to improve awareness of Community law for the legal professions (Robert Schuman Project) (96/C 378/08) COM(96) 580 final - 96/0277(COD)

(Submitted by the Commission on 19 November 1996)

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee,

Acting in compliance with the procedure laid down by Article 189b of the Treaty,

(1) Whereas Declaration No 19 on the implementation of Community law annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty on European Union and adopted by the Conference of Representatives of the Governments of the Member States on 7 February 1992 stresses that it is essential for the proper functioning of the Community that the measures taken by the different Member States should result in Community law being applied with the same effectiveness and rigour as in the application of their national law;

(2) Whereas the completion of the internal market has required a considerable legislative effort involving, inter alia, the approximation of national laws with a view to creating an area without frontiers;

(3) Whereas the effective and uniform application of the Community rules in question represents a new priority which is essential to the smooth functioning of the internal market;

(4) Whereas those Community rules on the freedoms of the internal market which are directly applicable may be invoked before any national court in accordance with the procedures defined by national law; whereas citizens, consumers and enterprises should be able to rely on the proper application of Community law and to benefit from the rights and guarantees available in each Member State; whereas legal certainty and the credibility of the internal market are at stake as is, more generally, citizens' confidence in European integration;

(5) Whereas citizens, consumers and enterprises will be unable to enforce all their rights under the Community legal system before any national court within the Union unless those members of the legal professions most directly involved in implementing Community law, i.e. judges and lawyers, are sufficiently informed and trained to do so;

(6) Whereas the Commission communication to the Council of 22 December 1993 'Making the most of the internal market: strategic programme` (1) emphasizes the importance, to persons subject to legal proceedings and to the smooth functioning of the internal market, of national courts being in a position to resolve a larger proportion of cases concerning the conformity of rules or behaviour with Community law and, to that end, the need to improve awareness of Community law within the legal profession;

(7) Whereas, in its resolution of 13 February 1996 on the Commission's Twelfth Annual Report on monitoring the application of Community law (2), the European Parliament asked the Commission to put forward a programme for the purposes of training and informing the legal professions in the field of Community law with a view to making the application of Community law by national courts more uniform and effective;

(8) Whereas raising awareness of Community law among judges and lawyers in the Member States is likely to improve the cooperation between the national courts and the Court of Justice that is an inherent part of the Community legal system;

(9) Whereas, in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity and by virtue of Article 127 of the Treaty, it is not for the European Community to assume the role of the Member States in determining the organization or content of training for judges and lawyers;

(10) Whereas it is within the European Community's remit to propose establishing support arrangements designed to help Member States to remedy a lack of training and information wherever this may affect the correct application of Community law necessary for the smooth functioning of the internal market;

(11) Whereas the objective of making legal practitioners more aware of Community law must form part of overall arrangements which, from checks on the correct transposal into national legislation of Community law to the penalties applicable in the event of this law being breached, are designed to ensure the effective and uniform application of internal market rules;

(12) Whereas achieving this objective entails using specific resources adapted to the requirements and constraints of professional practice; whereas the creation of a specific instrument whose objective is to raise awareness of Community law among judges and lawyers in the European Union complements, for a target public, existing Community programmes and initiatives,

HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Creation of the Robert Schuman Project

1. This Decision sets up the programme known as the 'Robert Schuman Project` for the period 1 January 1998 to 31 December 1999.

2. By means of this financial support instrument the European Union shall encourage and support initiatives designed to raise awareness of Community law among judges and lawyers within the Member States of the Union.

Article 2

Objectives of the Robert Schuman Project

1. The Robert Schuman Project shall:

(a) encourage the launch of practical training initiatives in Community law in the Member States (initial or continuing training) by bodies responsible for training judges and lawyers or future judges and lawyers;

(b) encourage the development, in the Member States, of information resources (traditional or based on new communication and information technology) in Community law for judges and lawyers;

(c) support initiatives likely to facilitate implementation of the above two forms of support, complement them or enhance their impact.

2. The Robert Schuman Project shall support and complement training and information work on Community law undertaken by the Member States while not encroaching on their responsibility for defining course content and organizing vocational train

Article 3

Instrument of Community intervention

1. The Robert Schuman Project is designed to provide financial support to initiatives launched in the Member States with a view to achieving the objectives referred to in Article 2.

2. Each of those objectives corresponds to a specific sub-part of the Robert Schuman Project: 'training`, 'information`, and 'accompanying initiatives`.

Article 4

Eligibility

1. The institutions responsible in the Member States - at local, regional or national level - or at Community level for:

- continuing vocational training of judges or lawyers,

or

- initial vocational training of future judges or lawyers,

shall be considered eligible for financial support under the Robert Schuman Project.

2. The institutions concerned are:

(a) the courts;

(b) bar associations and equivalent professional bodies;

(c) the Ministries of Justice, Judicial Service Commission or equivalent bodies;

(d) approved professional schools or educational institutes responsible for the initial or continuing training of judges or lawyers;

(e) universities providing initial or continuing training of judges or lawyers.

Article 5

Project selection criteria

1. Eligible institutions shall apply for financial support under the Robert Schuman Project by submitting a training, information or accompanying project to the competent Commission departments.

2. Projects shall be selected, and financial support awarded, on the basis of the following criteria:

(a) Practical use

The measures envisaged shall enable the target groups to acquire knowledge adapted to, and immediately useful in, the day-to-day practice of their profession.

(b) Accessibility

The measures envisaged shall raise awareness among the greatest possible number of judges and lawyers and, in particular, shall benefit those who have not yet become acquainted with Community law.

(c) Adjustment to constraints of professional practice

The way in which the measures envisaged are implemented shall reflect the needs of professional practice (particularly in terms of planning and geographical proximity).

(d) Cost-effectiveness

When assessing projects submitted under the Robert Schuman Project, the Commission shall work on the basis of the principles laid down by the relevant financial regulations, in particular the principles of sound financial management, economy and costeffectiveness.

Costs entailed by the measures envisaged shall be consistent with their objectives. Cost-effectiveness may be improved by partnerships involving several eligible institutions which pool their resources.

3. Complementary optional criteria:

The following optional assessment criteria shall also be taken into account:

(a) inter-professional dimension of measures (targeted on or involving both judges and lawyers);

(b) cross-border dimension of measures (targeted on or involving nationals of more than one European Union Member State).

Article 6

Support arrangements 1. Financial support under the Robert Schuman Project, which is designed to encourage, complement and support the work of the institutions referred to in Article 3, shall be provided in addition to local or national funds and shall be used to realize projects. Financial support thus awarded may not, therefore, entail the realization of direct or indirect profits.

2. So as to ensure continuity, recipients of Robert Schuman Project grants shall undertake to continue their work without support from the Commission as from the date on which grants cease, for a period equivalent to that for which they were given.

Recipients undertake to repay all amounts disbursed if they fail to meet this obligation.

3. Financial support under the Robert Schuman Project shall be awarded for one or two years.

4. Financial support provided under the Robert Schuman Project shall be awarded in accordance with Commission's rules governing grants. Compliance with these rules shall be monitored by the Commission and the Court of Auditors.

Article 7

Implementation

1. The Commission shall determine the arrangements for implementing this programme.

2. A call for expressions of interest shall be published each year in the Official Journal of the European Communities to inform potential applicants of the Robert Schuman Project's objectives and conditions governing the award of grants.

Article 8

Cohesion of Community action

1. The Commission shall be responsible, together with the Member States, for ensuring overall cohesion between this programme and other Community training or information initiatives.

2. The Robert Schuman Project shall complement action carried out under other Community programmes, in particular the Leonardo da Vinci programme for the implementation of a European Community vocational training policy, the Jean Monnet Project to promote teaching on European integration at university level, or the Grotius programme of incentives and exchanges for legal practitioners (Joint Action adopted on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union).

Article 9

Assessment and monitoring

1. The Commission, acting in conjunction with the Member States, shall be responsible for assessing and monitoring the programme on a periodic basis with a view to effecting any adjustments deemed necessary in the course of its operation.

2. The Commission shall submit an assessment report on implementation of the programme to the European Parliament, the Council, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions by 31 December 1999 at the latest.

Article 10

Entry into force

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 1997.

(1) COM(93) 632.

(2) OJ No C 65, 4. 3. 1996, p. 37.