1999/385/EC, ECSC, Euratom: Council Decision of 31 May 1999 adopting the Council's Rules of Procedure
Date: 1999-05-31
Institutions: Council of the European Union
Subjects: Council of the European Union, operation of the Institutions, rules of procedure

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II

(Acts whose publication is not obligatory)

COUNCIL

COUNCIL DECISION

of 31 May 1999

adopting the Council’s Rules of Procedure

(1999/385/EC, ECSC, Euratom)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article
207(3), first subparagraph,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, and in
particular Article 30(3) thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in
particular Article 121(3) thereof,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Sole Article

The Rules of Procedure of the Council of 6 December 1993 (93/662/EC), as amended on 6
February 1995 and 7 December 1998, shall be replaced by the following, which shall enter into
force on 1 june 1999.

‘RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE COUNCIL

Article 1

Notice and venue of meetings

Committee (Coreper), acting unanimously, may decide
that a Council meeting will be held elsewhere.

1.
The Council shall meet when convened by its Pres-
ident on his own initiative or at the request of one of its
members or of the Commission.

Article 2

Agenda

2.
The President shall make known the dates which he
envisages for meetings of the Council during his period of
office as President, seven months before the beginning
thereof.

1.
The President shall draw up the provisional agenda
for each meeting. The agenda shall be sent to the other
members of the Council and to the Commission at least
14 days before the beginning of the meeting.

3.
The Council shall have its seat in Brussels. During
the months of April, June and October, the Council shall
hold its meetings in Luxembourg.

In exceptional circumstances and for duly substantiated
reasons, the Council or the Permanent Representatives

2.
The provisional agenda shall contain the items in
respect of which a request for inclusion on the agenda,
together with any documents relating thereto, has been
received by the General Secretariat from a member of the
Council or from the Commission at least 16 days before
the beginning of that meeting.

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The provisional agenda shall also indicate the items on
which the Presidency, a member of the Council or the
Commission may request a vote.

Items relating to the adoption of an act or a
3.
common position on a legislative proposal or a proposal
for a measure to be adopted under Title VI of the EU
Treaty shall not be placed on the provisional agenda for a
decision until the six-week period provided for in point 3
of the Protocol on the role of national parliaments in the
European Union has elapsed.

The Council may unanimously derogate from the six-
week period where the entry of an item is subject to the
exception on grounds of urgency provided for in point 3
of that Protocol.

4. Only items in respect of which the documents have
been sent to the members of the Council and to the
Commission at the latest by the date on which the provi-
sional agenda is sent may be placed on that agenda.

shall

The General Secretariat

to the
5.
members of the Council and to the Commission requests
for the inclusion of items in the agenda, documents and
indications concerning voting relating thereto in respect
of which the time limits
specified above were not
respected.

transmit

6.
The agenda shall be adopted by the Council at the
beginning of each meeting. The inclusion in the agenda
of an item other than those appearing on the provisional
agenda shall require unanimity in the Council. Items
entered in this way may be put to the vote.

7.
The provisional agenda shall be divided into Part A
and Part B. Items for which approval of the Council is
possible without discussion shall be included in Part A,
but this does not exclude the possibility of any member
of
the Commission expressing an
opinion at the time of the approval of these items and
having statements included in the minutes.

the Council or of

8. However, an “A” item shall be withdrawn from the
agenda, unless the Council decides otherwise, if a position
on an “A” item might lead to further discussion thereof or
if a member of
the Council or the Commission so
requests.

Any request for the inclusion of an “other business”
9.
item shall, in principle, be accompanied by an explana-
tory document.

Article 3

Representation of a Council member unable to
attend

Subject to the provisions of Article 9 on the delegation of
voting rights, a member of the Council who is prevented
from attending a meeting may arrange to be represented.

Article 4

Meetings and public debates

1. Meetings of the Council shall not be public except
in the cases referred to in paragraph 2.

The Council shall hold policy debates on the six-
2.
monthly work programme submitted by the Presidency
and, if appropriate, on the Commission’s annual work
programme. These debates shall be the subject of public
transmission by audiovisual means.

The Council or Coreper may decide unanimously and on
a case-by-case basis that other Council debates are to be
the subject of public transmission by audiovisual means,
issue
in particular where they concern an important
affecting the interests of the Union or an important new
legislative proposal. To that end, it shall be for the Presi-
dency, any member of the Council, or the Commission to
propose issues or specific subjects for such a debate.

3.
The Commission shall be invited to take part in
meetings of the Council. The same applies to the Euro-
pean Central Bank in cases where it exercises its right of
initiative. The Council may, however, decide to deliberate
without the presence of the Commission or of the Euro-
pean Central Bank.

The members of the Council and of the Commis-
4.
sion may be accompanied by officials who assist them.
The number of such officials may be laid down by the
Council.

The names and functions of such officials shall be noti-
fied in advance to the Secretary-General or the Deputy
Secretary-General.

5.
Admission to meetings of
subject to the production of a pass.

the Council shall be

Article 5

Professional secrecy and production of documents
in legal proceedings

1. Without prejudice to Article 7 and other applicable
provisions,
the Council shall be
covered by the obligation of professional secrecy, except
insofar as the Council decides otherwise.

the deliberations of

2.
The Council or Coreper may authorise the produc-
tion for use in legal proceedings of a copy of or an extract
from Council documents which have not been released to
the public pursuant to these Rules or the Council’s rules
on public access to its documents.

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Article 6

Cases where the Council acts in its legislative
capacity

The Council acts in its legislative capacity within the
meaning of the second subparagraph of Article 207(3)of
the EC Treaty when it adopts rules which are legally
binding in or for the Member States, by means of regula-
tions, directives, framework decisions or decisions, on the
basis of the relevant provisions of the Treaties, with the
exception of discussions leading to the adoption of
internal measures, administrative or budgetary acts, acts
concerning inter-institutional or international relations or
non-binding acts (such as conclusions, recommendations
or resolutions).

Article 7

Making deliberations public

1. Where the Council acts in its legislative capacity
within the meaning of Article 6, the results of votes and
explanations of votes by Council members, as well as the
statements in the Council minutes and the items in those
minutes relating to the adoption of legislative acts, shall
be made public.

The results of votes and explanations of votes shall also be
made public when the Council adopts a common posi-
tion pursuant to Article 251 or 252 of the EC Treaty. The
same rule shall apply for votes and explanations of votes
by members of the Council or their representatives on the
Conciliation Committee set up by Article 251 of the EC
Treaty.

2.
The results of votes and explanations of votes shall
also be made public when the Council establishes a
convention on the basis of Title VI of the EU Treaty. The
statements entered in the Council minutes and the items
in those minutes relating to adoption of such conventions
shall be made public by decision of
the Council or
Coreper, taken at the request of one of their members.

3.

The results of votes shall be made public:

(a) when the Council acts pursuant to Title V of the EU
Treaty, by a unanimous Council or Coreper Decision
taken at the request of one of their members;

(b) when the Council adopts a common position within
the meaning of Title VI of the EU Treaty, by a unani-
the
mous Council or Coreper Decision taken at
request of one of their members;

(c) in other cases, by Council or Coreper Decision taken

at the request of one of their members.

When the result of a vote in the Council is made public
in accordance with subparagraphs (a),
the
explanations of votes made when the vote was taken shall

(b) and (c),

also be made public at
the Council
members concerned, with due regard for these Rules of
Procedure, legal certainty and the interests of the Council.

the request of

Statements entered in the Council minutes and items in
those minutes relating to the adoption of the acts referred
to in subparagraphs (a), (b) and (c) shall be made public by
Council or Coreper Decision taken at the request of one
of their members.

4.
Votes shall not be made public in the case of discus-
sions leading to indicative votes or the adoption of
preparatory acts.

Article 8

Public access to Council documents

The detailed arrangements for public access to Council
documents shall be adopted by the Council.

Article 9

Voting arrangements and quorum

The Council shall vote on the initiative of its Pres-

1.
ident.

The President shall, furthermore, be required to open a
voting procedure on the initiative of a member of the
Council or of the Commission, provided that a majority
of the Council’s members so decides.

The members of the Council shall vote in the order
2.
of the Member States laid down in Article 203 of the EC
Treaty and in the corresponding Articles of the other two
Community Treaties, beginning with the member who,
according to that order, follows the member holding the
office of President.

3. Where a vote is taken, any member of the Council
may also act on behalf of not more than one other
member.

4.
The presence of a majority of the members of the
Council who are, under the Treaties, entitled to vote is
required to enable the Council to vote.

Article 10

Written procedure

1.
Acts of the Council on an urgent matter may be
adopted by a written vote where the Council or Coreper
unanimously decides to use that procedure. In special
circumstances, the President may also propose the use of
that procedure; in such a case, written votes may be used
where all members of the Council agree to that proce-
dure.

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2.
Agreement by the Commission to the use of the
written procedure shall be required where the written vote
is on a matter which the Commission has brought before
the Council.

A summary of acts adopted by the written procedure

3.
shall be drawn up every month.

4. On the initiative of the Presidency, the Council may
also act for the purpose of implementing the common
foreign and security policy by means of the simplified
written procedure (COREU). In that case the proposal
shall be deemed to be adopted at the end of the period
laid down by the Presidency depending on the urgency of
the matter, except where a member of
the Council
objects.

5. On the initiative of the Presidency, the Council may
also act for the purpose of deciding to consult other
institutions or bodies by means of a streamlined written
procedure wherever such consultation is required by
Community law. In that case the decision to consult shall
be deemed to be adopted at the end of the period laid
down by the Presidency depending on the urgency of the
matter, except where a member of the Council objects.

The General Secretariat shall establish that

6.
written procedures have been completed.

the

Article 11

Minutes

1. Minutes of each meeting shall be drawn up and,
when approved, shall be signed by the President-in-Office
at the time of such approval and by the Secretary-General
or the Deputy Secretary-General.

The minutes shall as a general rule indicate in respect of
each item on the agenda:
 the documents submitted to the Council,
 the decisions taken or the conclusions reached by the

Council,

 the statements made by the Council and those whose
entry has been requested by a member of the Council
or the Commission.

2.
The draft minutes shall be drawn up by the General
Secretariat within fifteen days and submitted to the
Council or to Coreper for approval.

3.
Prior to such approval any member of the Council,
or the Commission, may request that more details be
inserted in the minutes regarding any item on the agenda.
These requests may be made in Coreper.

Article 12

Deliberations and decisions on the basis of docu-
ments and drafts drawn up in the languages
provided for by the language rules in force

1.
Except as otherwise decided unanimously by the
Council on grounds of urgency, the Council shall delib-
erate and take decisions only on the basis of documents
and drafts drawn up in the languages specified in the
rules in force governing languages.

2.
Any member of the Council may oppose discussion
if the texts of any proposed amendments are not drawn
up in such of the languages referred to in paragraph l as
he or she may specify.

Article 13

Signing of acts

The text of the acts adopted by the Council and that of
the acts adopted jointly by the European Parliament and
the Council shall be signed by the President-in-Office at
the time of their adoption and by the Secretary-General
or the Deputy Secretary-General. The Secretary-General
and the Deputy Secretary-General may delegate their
signatures to Directors-General of the General Secretariat.

Article 14

Absence of entitlement to vote

For the purposes of application of these Rules of Proce-
dure, due account will be taken,
in accordance with
Annex I of cases in which, under the Treaties, one or
more members of the Council are not entitled to vote.

Article 15

Publication of acts in the Official Journal

1.
The following shall be published in the Official
Journal by the Secretary-General or the Deputy Secretary-
General:

(a) the acts referred to in Article 254(l) and (2) of the EC

Treaty;

(b) the acts referred to in the first paragraph of Article

163 of the Euratom Treaty;

(c) the common positions adopted by the Council

in
accordance with the procedures referred to in Articles
251 and 252 of the EC Treaty, and the reasons under-
lying those common positions;

(d) the framework decisions and decisions referred to in

Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty;

(e) the conventions established by the Council in accord-

ance with Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty.

Reference shall be made in the Official Journal to the
entry into force of such conventions;

(f) the conventions signed between Member States on the

basis of Article 293 of the EC Treaty.

Reference shall be made in the Official Journal to the
entry into force of such conventions;

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(g) international

the
Community or in accordance with Article 24 of the
EU Treaty.

agreements

concluded

by

Reference shall be made in the Official Journal to the
entry into force of such agreements.

Unless the Council or Coreper decides otherwise,
2.
the following shall be published in the Official Journal
by the Secretary-General or the Deputy Secretary-General:

(a) initiatives presented to the Council by a Member State

pursuant to Article 67(1) of the EC Treaty;

(b) initiatives presented to the Council by a Member State

pursuant to Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty;

decision, the Council shall decide, when such an agree-
ment is concluded, whether decisions to be taken by that
body should be published in the Official Journal.

Article 16

Notification of acts

1. Directives other than those referred to in Article
254(1) and (2) of the EC Treaty and decisions other than
those referred to in Article 254(1) of the EC Treaty shall
be notified to their addressees by the Secretary-General,
the Deputy Secretary-General or a Director-General
acting on their behalf.

2. When they are not published in the Official
the following acts shall be notified to their
Journal,
addressees by the Secretary-General, the Deputy Secre-
tary-General or a Director-General acting on their behalf:

(c) the common positions referred to in Article 34(2) of

the EU Treaty;

(a) recommendations;

(d) directives other than those referred to in Article 254(1)
and (2) of the EC Treaty, decisions other than those
referred to in Article 254(1) of the EC Treaty and
recommendations.

3.
The Council or Coreper shall decide unanimously,
on a case-by-case basis, whether there should be publica-
tion in the Official Journal by the Secretary-General or
the Deputy Secretary-General of the common strategies,
the joint actions and the common positions referred to in
Article 12 of the EU Treaty.

4.
The Council or Coreper shall decide, on a case-by-
case basis and taking account of possible publication of
the basic act, whether the following should be published
in the Official Journal by the Secretary-General or the
Deputy Secretary-General:

(a) the measures implementing the joint actions referred

to in Article 12 of the EU Treaty;

(b) the joint actions, the common positions or any other
decision adopted on the basis of a common strategy,
as provided for in the first indent of Article 23(2) of
the EU Treaty;

(c) any measures implementing the decisions referred to
in Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty and any measures
implementing conventions drawn up by the Council
in accordance with Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty.

an agreement

5. Where
concluded between the
Communities and one or more States or international
organisations sets up a body vested with powers of

(b) the common strategies,

joint actions and common
positions referred to in Article 12 of the EU Treaty;

(c) the common positions referred to in Article 34(2) of

the EU Treaty;

(d) measures implementing the acts adopted on the basis

of Articles 12 and 34 of the EU Treaty.

The

the Deputy

Secretary-General,

Secretary-
3.
General or a Director-General acting on their behalf shall
send to the Governments of the Member States and to the
Commission authentic copies of Council Directives other
than those referred to in Article 254(1) and (2) of the EC
Treaty and Council Decisions and recommendations.

Article 17 (1)

Coreper, committees and working parties

1.
Coreper shall be responsible for preparing the work
of the Council and for carrying out the tasks assigned to it
by the Council. All items on the agenda for a Council
meeting shall be examined in advance by Coreper unless
the Council decides otherwise. Coreper shall endeavour to
reach agreement at
to be submitted to the
Council for adoption. It shall ensure adequate presenta-
tion of the dossiers to the Council. In the event of an
emergency, the Council, acting unanimously, may decide
to settle the matter without prior examination.

its level

2.
Committees or working parties may be set up by, or
with the approval of, Coreper with a view to carrying out
certain preparatory work or studies defined in advance.

(1) These provisions are without prejudice to the role of

the
Economic and Financial Committee as resulting from Article
114 of the EC Treaty and existing Council Decisions relating
to it (OJ L 358, 31.12.1998, p. 109, and OJ L 5, 1.1.1999,
p. 71).

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the

various

3.
Coreper shall be chaired, depending on the items on
the agenda, by the Permanent Representative or the
Deputy Permanent Representative of the Member State
which holds the Presidency of the Council. Unless the
committees
Council decides otherwise,
provided for in the Treaties shall also be chaired by a
delegate of that Member State. The same shall apply to
the committees and working parties referred to in para-
graph 2, unless Coreper decides otherwise. For the prepa-
ration of meetings of Council compositions meeting once
every six months and held during the first half of this
period, the meetings of committees other than Coreper
and those of working parties held during the preceding
six months may be chaired by a delegate of the Member
State whose turn it is to chair the said Council meetings.

Article 18 (1)

Reports from committees and working parties

Notwithstanding the other provisions of these Rules of
Procedure, the Presidency shall organise the meetings of
the various committees and working parties so that their
reports are available before the Coreper meetings at which
they are to be examined.

Article 19

Quality of drafting

Coreper may adopt the following procedural deci-
4.
sions, provided that the items relating thereto have been
included on its provisional agenda at least three working
days before the meeting. Unanimity on the part of
Coreper shall be required for any derogation from that
period:

In order to assist the Council in its task of ensuring the
drafting quality of the legislative acts which it adopts, the
Legal Service shall be responsible for checking the
drafting quality of proposals and draft acts at the appro-
priate stage, as well as for bringing drafting suggestions to
the attention of the Council and its bodies, pursuant to
the Interinstitutional Agreement of 22 December 1998.

(a) decision to hold a Council meeting in a place other
than Brussels or Luxembourg (second subparagraph of
Article 1(3));

Article 20

The General Secretariat

(b) decision that certain Council debates may be trans-
mitted to the public (second subparagraph of Article
4(2));

(c) authorisation to produce a copy of or an extract from
for use in legal proceedings

a Council document
(Article 5(2));

(d) decision to make the results of votes public in the

cases laid down in Article 7(2) and (3);

(e) decision to use the written procedure (Article 10(1));

(f) approval or amendment of Council minutes (Article

11(2) and (3));

(g) decision to publish a text or an act in the Official

Journal (Article 15(2),

(3) and (4));

(h) decision to consult an institution or body;

(i) decision setting or extending a time-limit for consul-

tation of an institution or body;

(j) approval of the wording of a letter to be sent to an

institution or body.

1.
The Council shall be assisted by a General Secre-
tariat, under the responsibility of a Secretary-General,
High Representative for the common foreign and security
policy, who shall be. assisted by a Deputy Secretary-
General responsible for the running of the General Secre-
tariat. The Secretary-General and the Deputy Secretary-
General shall be appointed by the Council acting unani-
mously.

The Council shall decide on the organisation of the

2.
General Secretariat.

Under its authority the Secretary-General and the Deputy
Secretary-General shall take all the measures necessary to
ensure the smooth running of the General Secretariat.

The Secretary-General or

3.
the Deputy Secretary-
General shall submit to the Council the draft estimate of
the expenditure of
time to
the Council
ensure that the time limits laid down by the financial
provisions are met.

in sufficient

4.
In accordance with the provisions of the Financial
Regulation referred to in Article 279 of the EC Treaty and
in the corresponding articles of the other two Community
Treaties, the Secretary-General or the Deputy Secretary-
General shall administer the appropriations entered in
Section II  Council  of the budget.

(1) These provisions are without prejudice to the role of

the
Economic and Financial Committee as resulting from Article
114 of the EC Treaty and existing Council Decisions relating
to it (OJ L 358, 31.12.1998, p. 109, and OJ L 5, 1.1.1999, p.
71).

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Article 21

Security

The rules on security shall be adopted by the Council.

Article 22

Duties as depositary of agreements and conventions

In the event of the Secretary-General of the Council
being designated as depositary of an agreement concluded
in accordance with Article 24 of
the EU Treaty or
concluded by the Community and one or more States or
international organisations, of a convention concluded
between Member States or of a convention established
pursuant to Article 34 of the EU Treaty, the acts of
ratification, acceptance or approval of those agreements or
conventions shall be deposited at
the
Council.

the address of

In such instances the Secretary-General shall perform the
duties of a depositary and shall also ensure that the dates
of entry into force of such agreements or conventions are
published in the Official Journal.

Article 23

Representation before the European Parliament

Subject to special procedures, the Council may be repre-
sented by the Presidency or by any other of its members
before the European Parliament or its committees. The
Council may also be represented before those committees
by its Secretary-General, its Deputy Secretary-General or
by senior officials of the General Secretariat acting on
instructions from the Presidency.

The Council may also present its views to the European
Parliament by means of a written statement.

Article 24

Provisions concerning the form of acts

The provisions concerning the form of acts are set out in
Annex II.

Article 25

Correspondence addressed to the Council

Correspondence to the Council shall be sent to the Pres-
ident at the following address of the Council:

Council of the European Union
Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, 175
B-1048 Brussels

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ANNEX I

1. In application of the following provisions of these Rules of Procedure and for decisions in respect of which,
under the Treaties, members of the Council or of Coreper are not entitled to vote, account is not to be
taken of votes by such members:

(a) Article 1(3), second subparagraph (holding of a meeting in a place other than Brussels or Luxembourg);

(b) Article 2(6) (inclusion on the agenda of an item other than those appearing on the provisional agenda);

(c) Article 2(8) (maintaining as a “B” item on the agenda an “A” item which would otherwise have had to

be withdrawn from the agenda);

(d) Article 4(3), as regards the presence of the European Central Bank only (deliberation without the

presence of the European Central Bank);

(e) Article 7(2) and (3), first subparagraph, points (b) and (c), second and third subparagraphs (making
public the statements in the Council minutes and items in those minutes relating to the adoption of
conventions established on the basis of Title VI of the EU Treaty; making public the results of votes,
explanations of votes, statements in the Council minutes and items in those minutes relating to the
adoption of a common position under Title VI of the EU Treaty; making public the results of votes,
explanations of votes, statements in the Council minutes and items in those minutes relating to cases
other than those referred to in paragraph 3);

(f) Article 9(1), second subparagraph (opening of a voting procedure);

(g) Article 10(1) (use of the written procedure);

(h) Article 12(1) (decision to deliberate and take decisions exceptionally on the basis of documents and

drafts not drawn up in all the languages);

(i) Article 15(2)(a) and (b) (non-publication in the Official Journal of an initiative presented by a Member

State pursuant to Article 67(1) of the EC Treaty or Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty);

(j) Article 15(2)(c) and (d) (non-publication in the Official Journal of a common position adopted on the
basis of Article 34 of the EU Treaty or certain Directives, Decisions and Recommendations);

(k) Article 15(4)(c)

(publication in the Official Journal of any measures implementing decisions or

conventions referred to in Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty);

(l) Article 15(5) (whether to publish in the Official Journal decisions taken by a body set up under an

international agreement).

2. A member of the Council or of Coreper may not make use of the following provisions of these Rules of
Procedure in connection with decisions on which, under the Treaties, that member is not entitled to vote:

(a) Article 2(8) (possibility of a member of the Council requesting withdrawal of an “A” item from the

agenda);

(b) Article 9(1), second subparagraph (possibility of a member of the Council requesting the opening of a

voting procedure);

(c) Article 9(3) (possibility of a member of the Council acting on behalf of another in a vote);

(d) Article 12(2) (possibility for any member of the Council to oppose discussion if the texts of any

proposed amendments are not drawn up in the language he or she has specified).

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ANNEX II

Provisions concerning the form of acts

A. Form of Regulations

1. Regulations adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council and Council regulations shall

include:

(a)

in their title the word “Regulation”, followed by a serial number, the date of their adoption and an
indication of their subject matter;

(b) the words “The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union” or “The Council of

the European Union”, as appropriate;

(c) a reference to the provisions under which the Regulation is adopted, preceded by the words “Having

regard to”;

(d) a citation containing a reference to proposals submitted and to opinions obtained and consultations

held;

(e) a statement of the reasons on which the Regulation is based, preceded by the word “Whereas:”, the

recitals being numbered;

(f) the words “have adopted this Regulation” or “has adopted this Regulation”, as appropriate, followed

by the enacting terms of the regulation.

2. Regulations shall be divided into articles, if appropriate grouped into chapters and sections.

3. The final article of a Regulation shall fix the date of entry into force, where that date is before or after

the twentieth day following publication.

4. The final article of a Regulation shall be followed by:

(a)

(i) the words “This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member

States.”

or

(ii) the words “This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the
Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community” in any
cases in which an act is not applicable to, and in, all Member States;

(b) the words “Done at.....”, followed by the date on which the regulation was adopted, and

(c)

in the case of:

(i) a Regulation adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council, the formula:

“For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President,”

followed by the name of the President of the European Parliament and of the President-in-
Office of the Council at the time when the regulation is adopted;

(ii) a Council Regulation, the formula:

“For the Council,
The President,”

followed by the name of the President-in-Office of the Council at the time when the Regulation
is adopted.

L 147/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

12. 6. 1999

B. Form of Directives, Decisions, recommendations and Opinions (EC Treaty)

1. Directives and decisions adopted jointly by the European Parliament and the Council, and directives
and decisions of the Council, shall include in their titles the word “Directive” or “Decision”.

2. Recommendations and opinions issued by the Council shall include in their titles the word “Recom-

mendation” or “Opinion”.

3. The provisions relating to regulations set out in A above shall apply mutatis mutandis, subject to the

relevant provisions of the EC Treaty, to Directives and Decisions.

C. Form of common strategies of the European Council, joint actions and common positions

referred to in Article 12 of the EU Treaty

Common strategies, joint actions and common positions within the meaning of Article 12 of the EU
Treaty shall bear one of the following headings, as appropriate:

(a) “European Council Common Strategy”, a serial number (year/number/CFSP), the date of adoption and

the subject matter;

(b) “Council Joint Action”, a serial number (year/number/CFSP), the date of adoption and the subject

matter;

(c) “Council Common Position”, a serial number (year/number/CFSP), the date of adoption and the

subject matter.

D. Form of common positions, framework decisions, decisions and conventions referred to in

Article 34(2) of the EU Treaty

Common positions, framework decisions, decisions and conventions within the meaning of Article 34(2) of
the EU Treaty shall bear one of the following headings, as appropriate:

(a) “Council Common Position”, a serial number (year/number/JHA), the date of adoption and the subject

matter;

(b) “Council Framework Decision”, a serial number (year/number/JHA), the date of adoption and the

subject matter;

(c) “Council Decision”, a serial number (year/number/JHA), the date of adoption and the subject matter;

(d) “Convention established by the Council in accordance with Article 34 of the Treaty on European

Union” and the subject matter.'

Done at Brussels, 31 May 1999.

For the Council

The President

J. FISCHER