Article 1 
France is hereby empowered to negotiate a bilateral agreement with Algeria concerning judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters, provided that the following negotiating guidelines are followed: (a) France informs Algeria that the Commission may participate in the negotiations as an observer, and that the Commission will be informed of any progress and results achieved during the various stages of the negotiations; (b) France encourages Algeria to consider acceding to the core conventions developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (the ‘Hague Conventions’) and to start an analysis of the most appropriate means to remove the obstacles which have prevented Algeria from acceding to the Hague Conventions; (c) France informs Algeria that, following the conclusion of the negotiations, an empowerment from the European Parliament and the Council is required before France is allowed to conclude the agreement; (d) France informs Algeria that the empowerment from the European Parliament and the Council to conclude the agreement, following a proposal from the Commission, may provide that the agreement is to have a limited validity in time, with the possibility that a mechanism of tacit renewal be indicated in the decision of the European Parliament and of the Council on the conclusion of the agreement; (e) a provision is inserted in the agreement providing for a full or a partial denunciation of the agreement or a direct replacement of the relevant provisions of the agreement in the event of the conclusion of a subsequent agreement between the Union, or the Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Algeria, on the other hand, or of Algeria’s accession to the relevant Hague Conventions; (f) a provision is inserted in the agreement to the effect that any decision recognised in France under the agreement cannot subsequently circulate in other Member States under Union law; (g) the provisions of the agreement comply with the relevant Union acquis and the relevant Hague Conventions; (h) France informs Algeria that, depending on the development of negotiations, other negotiating guidelines may be needed in due course.
Article 2 
France shall conduct the negotiations in consultation with the Commission. France shall regularly report to the Commission on the steps undertaken pursuant to this Decision and consult it on a regular basis. Whenever requested by the Commission, France shall report to it in writing on the conduct and outcome of the negotiations.
Article 3 
This Decision is addressed to the French Republic.