2005/960/EC,Euratom: Commission Decision of  15 November 2005  amending its Rules of Procedure
Date: 2005-11-15
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Commission, operation of the Institutions, rules of procedure

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COMMISSION

COMMISSION DECISION

of 15 November 2005

amending its Rules of Procedure

(2005/960/EC, Euratom)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 218(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article
131 thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 28(1) and Article 41(1) thereof,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS:

Article 1

Articles 1 to 28 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission (1) shall be replaced by the text in the Annex
to this Decision.

This Decision shall enter into force on 1 January 2006.

Article 2

Article 3

This Decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Done at Brussels, 15 November 2005.

For the Commission

José Manuel BARROSO
The President

(1) OJ L 308, 8.12.2000, p. 26. Rules of Procedure as last amended by Commission Decision 2004/563/EC, Euratom

(OJ L 251, 27.7.2004, p. 9).

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ANNEX

‘CHAPTER I

THE COMMISSION

SECTION 1

General provisions

Article 1

The principle of collective responsibility

The Commission shall act collectively in accordance with these Rules of Procedure and in compliance with the political
guidelines laid down by the President.

Article 2

Priorities and work programme

In compliance with the political guidelines laid down by the President, the Commission shall establish its multiannual
strategic objectives and its Annual Policy Strategy, on the basis of which it shall each year adopt its work programme and
the preliminary draft budget for the following year.

Article 3

The President

The President may assign to Members of the Commission special fields of activity with regard to which they shall be
1.
specifically responsible for the preparation of the work of the Commission and the implementation of its decisions.

He may change these assignments at any time.

The President may set up standing or ad hoc groups of Members of the Commission, designating their chairpersons
2.
and deciding on their membership. He shall lay down the mandate of these groups and approve their operating rules.

The President shall represent the Commission. He shall designate Members of the Commission to assist him in this

3.
task.

Article 4

Decision-making procedures

Commission decisions shall be taken:

(a) at Commission meetings by oral procedure; or

(b) by written procedure in accordance with Article 12; or

(c) by empowerment procedure in accordance with Article 13; or

(d) by delegation procedure in accordance with Article 14.

SECTION 2

Commission meetings

Article 5

Convening Commission meetings

1. Meetings of the Commission shall be convened by the President.

The Commission shall, as a general rule, meet at least once a week. It shall hold additional meetings whenever

2.
necessary.

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3. Members of the Commission shall be required to attend all meetings. The President shall judge whether Members
may be released from this obligation in certain circumstances.

Article 6

Agenda of Commission meetings

1.

The President shall adopt the agenda of each Commission meeting.

2. Without prejudice to the prerogative of the President to adopt the agenda, any proposal
expenditure must be presented in agreement with the Member of the Commission responsible for the budget.

involving significant

3.
If a Member of the Commission proposes the inclusion of an item on the agenda, the President must be notified as
prescribed by the Commission in accordance with the implementing rules referred to in Article 28, hereinafter referred to
as “the implementing rules”.

The agenda and the necessary documents shall be circulated to the Members of the Commission as prescribed by

4.
the Commission in accordance with the implementing rules.

5. Where a Member of the Commission requests that an item be withdrawn from the agenda, the item shall, provided
the President agrees, be held over for the next meeting.

The Commission may, on a proposal from the President, discuss any question which is not on the agenda or for
6.
which the necessary working documents have been distributed late. It may decide not to discuss an item on the agenda.

Article 7

Quorum

The number of Members whose presence is necessary to constitute a quorum shall be equal to a majority of the number
of Members specified in the Treaty.

Article 8

Decision-making

1.

The Commission shall take decisions on the basis of proposals from one or more of its Members.

A vote shall be taken if any Member so requests. The vote may be on the original draft text or on an amended draft

2.
text by the Member or Members responsible for the initiative or by the President.

Commission decisions shall be adopted if a majority of the number of Members specified in the Treaty vote in

3.
favour.

The President shall formally note the outcome of discussions, which shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting

4.
provided for in Article 11.

Article 9

Confidentiality

Meetings of the Commission shall not be public. Discussions shall be confidential.

Article 10

Attendance of officials or other persons

1.
Unless the Commission decides otherwise, the Secretary-General and the President's Head of Cabinet shall attend
meetings. The circumstances in which other persons may attend Commission meetings shall be determined in accordance
with the implementing rules.

In the absence of a Member of the Commission, his Head of Cabinet may attend the meeting and, at the invitation

2.
of the President, state the views of the absent Member.

3.

The Commission may decide to hear any other person.

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Article 11

Minutes

1. Minutes shall be taken of all meetings of the Commission.

The draft minutes shall be submitted to the Commission for approval at a subsequent meeting. The approved

2.
minutes shall be authenticated by the signatures of the President and the Secretary-General.

SECTION 3

Other decision-making procedures

Article 12

Decisions taken by written procedure

The agreement of the Members of the Commission to a draft text from one or more of its Members may be
1.
obtained by written procedure, provided the prior approval of the Legal Service and the agreement of the departments
consulted in accordance with Article 23 has been obtained.

Such approval and/or agreement may be replaced by an agreement between the Heads of Cabinet under the finalisation
written procedure as provided for in the implementing rules.

2.
The draft text shall be circulated in writing to all Members of the Commission as laid down by it in accordance with
the implementing rules, with a time-limit within which Members must make known any reservations they may have or
amendments they wish to make.

Any Member of the Commission may,

3.
discussed. He shall send a reasoned request to that effect to the President.

in the course of the written procedure, request that the draft text be

A draft text on which no Member has made and maintained a request for suspension up to the time-limit set for the

4.
written procedure shall stand adopted by the Commission.

Article 13

Decisions taken by empowerment procedure

1.
The Commission may, provided the principle of collective responsibility is fully respected, empower one or more of
its Members to take management or administrative measures on its behalf and subject to such restrictions and conditions
as it shall impose.

The Commission may also instruct one or more of its Members, with the agreement of the President, to adopt the
2.
definitive text of any instrument or of any proposal to be presented to the other institutions, the substance of which has
already been determined in discussion.

Powers conferred in this way may be subdelegated to the Directors-General and Heads of Department unless this is

3.
expressly prohibited in the empowering decision.

4.
The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall be without prejudice to the rules concerning delegation in respect of
financial matters or the powers conferred on the appointing authority and the authority empowered to conclude contracts
of employment.

Article 14

Decisions taken by delegation procedure

The Commission may, provided the principle of collective responsibility is fully respected, delegate the adoption of
management or administrative measures to the Directors-General and Heads of Department, acting on its behalf and
subject to such restrictions and conditions as it shall impose.

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Subdelegation for individual decisions awarding grants and contracts

Article 15

A Director-General or Head of Department who has received delegated or subdelegated powers under Articles 13 and 14
for the adoption of financing decisions may decide to subdelegate the adoption of certain individual decisions on the
award of grants and contracts to the competent Director or,
in agreement with the Member of the Commission
responsible, to the competent Head of Unit, subject to the restrictions and conditions laid down in the implementing
rules.

Article 16

Information concerning decisions adopted

Decisions adopted by written procedure, empowerment procedure or delegation procedure shall be recorded in a day note
which shall be recorded in the minutes of the next Commission meeting.

SECTION 4

Provisions common to all decision-making procedures

Article 17

Authentication of acts adopted by the Commission

1.
Instruments adopted in the course of a meeting shall be attached, in the authentic language or languages, in such a
way that they cannot be separated, to a summary note prepared at the end of the Commission meeting at which they
were adopted. They shall be authenticated by the signatures of the President and the Secretary-General on the last page of
the summary note.

Instruments adopted by written procedure or empowerment procedure in accordance with Article 12 and Article
2.
13(1) and (2) shall be attached, in the authentic language or languages, in such a way that they cannot be separated, to
the day note referred to in Article 16. They shall be authenticated by the signature of the Secretary-General on the last
page of the day note.

Instruments adopted by delegation procedure or by subdelegation shall be attached in the authentic language or
3.
languages,
in such a way that they cannot be separated, to the day note referred to in Article 16. They shall be
authenticated by a certifying statement signed by the official to whom the powers have been delegated or subdelegated
in accordance with Article 13(3) and Articles 14 and 15.

For the purposes of these Rules of Procedure, “instrument” means any instrument referred to in Article 249 of the

4.
EC Treaty and Article 161 of the Euratom Treaty.

For the purposes of these Rules of Procedure, “authentic languages” means all the official languages of the Commu-
5.
nities, without prejudice to the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 930/2004 (1), in the case of instruments of
general application, and the language or languages of those to whom they are addressed, in other cases.

SECTION 5

Preparation and implementation of Commission decisions

Article 18

Groups of Members of the Commission

Groups of Commission Members shall contribute to the coordination and preparation of the work of the Commission
within the context of the strategic objectives and priorities laid down by the Commission and in accordance with the
mandate and political guidelines laid down by the President.

(1) OJ L 169, 1.5.2004, p. 1.

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Article 19

Members' cabinets and relations with departments

1. Members of
Commission decisions. The rules governing the composition of the cabinets shall be laid down by the President.

the Commission shall have their own cabinet

them in their work and in preparing

to assist

2. Members of the Commission shall approve their working arrangements with the departments for which they are
responsible.
the Commission give
instructions to the departments concerned, which will regularly provide them with all the information on their area
of activity necessary for them to exercise their responsibilities.

these arrangements must specify the way in which Members of

In particular,

Article 20

The Secretary-General

1.
The Secretary-General shall assist the President in preparing the proceedings and conducting the meetings of the
Commission. He shall also assist the Members chairing groups of Members set up under Article 3(2) in preparing and
conducting their meetings.

He shall ensure that decision-making procedures are properly implemented and that effect is given to the decisions

2.
referred to in Article 4.

3.
He shall help to ensure the necessary coordination between departments in the preparatory stages, in accordance
with Article 23, and shall see that documents submitted to the Commission are of good quality in terms of substance and
comply with the rules as to form.

4.
Except in specific cases he shall take the necessary steps to ensure that Commission instruments are officially
notified to those concerned and are published in the Official Journal of the European Union and that documents of the
Commission and its departments are transmitted to the other institutions of the European Communities.

5.
He shall be responsible for official relations with the other institutions of the European Communities, subject to any
decisions by the Commission to exercise any function itself or to assign it to its Members or departments. He shall
monitor the proceedings of the other institutions of the European Communities and keep the Commission informed.

CHAPTER II

COMMISSION DEPARTMENTS

Article 21

Structure of departments

A number of Directorates-General and equivalent departments forming a single administrative service shall assist the
Commission in the performance of its tasks.

The Directorates-General and equivalent departments shall normally be divided into directorates, and directorates into
units.

Article 22

Creation of specific functions and structures

In special cases the Commission may create specific functions or structures to deal with particular matters and shall
determine their responsibilities and method of operation.

Article 23

Cooperation and coordination between departments

In order to ensure the effectiveness of Commission action, departments shall work in close cooperation and in

1.
coordinated fashion from the outset in the preparation or implementation of Commission decisions.

2.
The department responsible for preparing an initiative shall ensure from the beginning of the preparatory work that
there is effective coordination between all the departments with a legitimate interest in the initiative by virtue of their
powers or responsibilities or the nature of the subject.

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Before a document is submitted to the Commission, the department responsible shall,

3.
implementing rules, consult the departments with a legitimate interest in the draft text in sufficient time.

in accordance with the

The Legal Service shall be consulted on all drafts or proposals for legal instruments and on all documents which

4.
may have legal implications.

The Legal Service must always be consulted before initiating any of the decision-making procedures provided for in
Articles 12, 13 and 14, except for decisions concerning standard instruments where its agreement has already been
secured (repetitive instruments). Such consultation is not required for the decisions referred to in Article 15.

5.

The Secretariat-General shall be consulted on all initiatives which:

(a) are of political importance; or

(b) are part of the Commission's annual work programme or the programming instrument in force; or

(c) concern institutional issues; or

(d) are subject to impact assessment or public consultation.

6. With the exception of the decisions referred to in Article 15, the Directorates-General responsible for the budget
and for personnel and administration shall be consulted on all documents which may have implications for the budget
and finances or for personnel and administration respectively. The department responsible for combating fraud shall
likewise be consulted where necessary.

The department responsible shall endeavour to frame a proposal that has the agreement of the departments
In the event of a disagreement it shall append to its proposal the differing views expressed by these

7.
consulted.
departments, without prejudice to Article 12.

CHAPTER III

DEPUTISING

Article 24

Continuity of service

The Members of the Commission and the departments shall ensure they take all appropriate measures to ensure
continuity of service, in compliance with the provisions adopted for that purpose by the Commission or the President.

Article 25

Deputising for the President

Where the President is prevented from exercising his functions, they shall be exercised by one of the Vice-Presidents or
Members in the order of precedence laid down by the President.

Article 26

Deputising for the Secretary-General

Where the Secretary-General is prevented from exercising his functions, they shall be exercised by the most senior Deputy
Secretary-General present or, in the event of equal seniority, by the eldest or by an official designated by the Commission.

If there is no Deputy Secretary-General present and no official has been designated by the Commission, the most senior
subordinate official present in the highest category and grade or, in the event of equal seniority, the one who is eldest,
shall deputise.

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Article 27

Deputising for hierarchical superiors

1. Where a Director-General is prevented from exercising his functions, they shall be exercised by the most senior
Deputy Director-General present or, in the event of equal seniority, by the eldest or by an official designated by the
Commission.

If there is no Deputy Director-General present and no official has been designated by the Commission, the most senior
subordinate present in the highest category and grade or, in the event of equal seniority, the one who is eldest, shall
deputise.

2. Where a Head of Unit is prevented from exercising his functions, they shall be exercised by the Deputy Head of
Unit or an official designated by the Director-General.

If there is no Deputy Head of Unit present and no official has been designated by the Director-General, the most senior
subordinate present in the highest category and grade or, in the event of equal seniority, the one who is eldest, shall
deputise.

3. Where any other hierarchical superior is prevented from exercising his functions, they shall be exercised by an
official designated by the Director-General in agreement with the Member of the Commission responsible. If no replace-
ment has been designated, the most senior subordinate present in the highest category and grade, or in the event of equal
seniority, the one who is eldest, shall deputise.

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 28

Implementing rules and supplementary measures

The Commission shall, as necessary, lay down implementing rules to give effect to these Rules of Procedure.

The Commission may adopt supplementary measures relating to the functioning of
departments, taking into account developments in technology and information technology.

the Commission and of

its

Article 29

Entry into force

These Rules of Procedure shall enter into force on 1 January 2006.’