CELEX ID: 32013R0216

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Document:
13.3.2013
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
L 69/1
COUNCIL REGULATION (EU) No 216/2013
of 7 March 2013
on the electronic publication of the 
Official Journal of the European Union
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 352 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the European Commission,
After transmission of the draft legislative act to the national parliaments,
Having regard to the consent of the European Parliament,
Acting in accordance with a special legislative procedure,
Whereas:
(1)
Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) deals with the publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union
 (hereinafter ‘the Official Journal’) and the entry into force of legal acts of the Union.
(2)
Regulation (EC) No 1/1958 
(
1
)
, including any subsequent amendments thereto, determines the official languages of the institutions of the European Union.
(3)
The printed edition of the Official Journal, available in all official languages of the institutions of the Union, is at present the only legally binding publication, although it is also made available online.
(4)
Decision 2009/496/EC, Euratom of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 26 June 2009 on the organisation and operation of the Publications Office of the European Union 
(
2
)
 ensures that the Publications Office enables the institutions to fulfil their obligation to publish legislative texts.
(5)
The Court of Justice of the European Union has held, in Case C-161/06 Skoma-Lux sro 
v
 Celní ředitelství Olomouc 
(
3
)
, that legal acts of the Union are not enforceable against individuals if they have not been properly published in the Official Journal and that making such acts available online does not equate to valid publication in the Official Journal in the absence of any rules in that regard in Union law.
(6)
If publication in the Official Journal in electronic form were to constitute valid publication, access to Union law would be faster and more economical. Citizens should, nevertheless, continue to have the possibility to obtain a printed version of the Official Journal from the Publications Office.
(7)
The Commission Communication entitled ‘A Digital Agenda for Europe’ highlights that access to online legal content favours the development of a digital internal market, which leads to economic and social benefits.
(8)
Rules ensuring the authenticity, integrity and inalterability of the electronic publication of the Official Journal should therefore be laid down.
(9)
This Regulation should also lay down rules applicable in cases where, due to unforeseen and exceptional circumstances, it is not possible to publish and to make available the electronic edition of the Official Journal.
(10)
Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 1999 on a Community framework for electronic signatures 
(
4
)
 establishes the legal effects of electronic signatures as a means for authentication. For the purposes of ensuring the authenticity, integrity and inalterability of the electronic edition of the Official Journal, an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate and created by a secure-signature-creation device in accordance with that Directive provides sufficient guarantees to the public. It should be possible to verify the electronically signed Official Journal by readily available means.
(11)
Access to the EUR-Lex website is to be ensured in compliance with the commitments for the protection of persons with disabilities in accordance with Council Decision 2010/48/EC of 26 November 2009 concerning the conclusion, by the European Community, of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 
(
5
)
.
(12)
In accordance with the principle of proportionality, as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union, this Regulation does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve the objective of enabling all European citizens to rely on the electronic publication of the Official Journal, as its scope is limited to making such publication authentic, in the same way as the printed publication is today.
(13)
The TFEU does not provide, for the adoption of this Regulation, powers other than those under Article 352,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1.   The Official Journal shall be published in electronic form, in accordance with this Regulation, in the official languages of the institutions of the European Union.
2.   Without prejudice to Article 3, only the Official Journal published in electronic form (hereinafter ‘the electronic edition of the Official Journal’) shall be authentic and shall produce legal effects.
Article 2
1.   The electronic edition of the Official Journal shall bear an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate and created with a secure-signature-creation device, in accordance with Directive 1999/93/EC. The qualified certificate and renewals thereof shall be published on the EUR-Lex website in order to make it possible for the public to verify the advanced electronic signature and the authentic character of the electronic edition of the Official Journal.
2.   The electronic edition of the Official Journal shall display information regarding its publication date.
3.   The electronic edition of the Official Journal shall be made available to the public on the EUR-Lex website in a non-obsolete format and for an unlimited period. Its consultation shall be free of charge.
Article 3
1.   Where it is not possible to publish the electronic edition of the Official Journal due to an unforeseen and exceptional disruption of the information system of the Publications Office, the information system shall be restored as soon as possible.
The moment at which such a disruption occurs shall be established by the Publications Office.
2.   Where it is necessary to publish the Official Journal when the information system of the Publications Office is not operational pursuant to a disruption as referred to in paragraph 1, only the printed edition of the Official Journal shall be authentic and shall produce legal effects.
Once the information system of the Publications Office is restored, the corresponding electronic version of the printed edition referred to in the first subparagraph shall be made available to the public on the EUR-Lex website for information purposes only and shall contain a notice to that effect.
3.   Once the information system of the Publications Office is restored, the EUR-Lex website shall provide information on all printed editions that are authentic and that produce legal effects in accordance with the first subparagraph of paragraph 2.
Article 4
1.   With regard to the electronic edition of the Official Journal, the Publications Office shall be responsible for:
(a)
publishing it and guaranteeing its authenticity;
(b)
implementing, managing and maintaining the information system producing the electronic edition of the Official Journal, and upgrading that system in line with future technical developments;
(c)
implementing and extending the technical facilities to ensure accessibility for all users to the electronic edition of the Official Journal;
(d)
setting up internal security and access rules with regard to the information system producing the electronic edition of the Official Journal;
(e)
preserving and archiving the electronic files and handling them in line with future technological developments.
2.   The Publications Office shall exercise the responsibilities set out in paragraph 1 in accordance with Decision 2009/496/EC, Euratom.
Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on the first day of the fourth calendar month following its adoption.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 7 March 2013.
For the Council
The President
A. SHATTER
(
1
)
  Regulation No 1 determining the languages to be used by the European Economic Community (
OJ 017, 6.10.1958, p. 385/58
).
(
2
)
  
            
OJ L 168, 30.6.2009, p. 41
.
(
3
)
  ECR 2007, p. I-10841.
(
4
)
  
            
OJ L 13, 19.1.2000, p. 12
.
(
5
)
  
            
OJ L 23, 27.1.2010, p. 35
.

Summary:
Publication of the Official Journal
SUMMARY OF:
Regulation (EU) 
No 216/2013
 on the electronic publication of the Official Journal of the European Union
WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?
The 
regulation
 aims to ensure that the 
European Union
 (EU) 
Official Journal
 (OJ) is published in an 
authentic
 and 
legally binding
 electronic form, in order to enhance access to 
EU law
.
KEY POINTS
Since July 2013, the 
electronic edition
 of the OJ has been available to the public at no charge on the 
EUR-Lex website
 in a non-obsolete format and for an unlimited period.
The electronic edition of the OJ is published under technical conditions ensuring the 
authenticity, integrity and inalterability
 of its content. The system put into place to ensure authenticity is described on the EUR-Lex website.
The 
Publications Office of the European Union
 is responsible for publishing the electronic edition of the OJ on the EUR-Lex website and 
guaranteeing its authenticity
. It also manages the information system for the electronic edition of the OJ and upgrades it to incorporate future technical developments.
The OJ bears a 
qualified electronic signature
 or a 
qualified electronic seal
 defined in accordance with Regulation (EU) 
No 
910/2014
 (see 
summary
). Qualified certificates for the 
electronic signature
 or for the electronic seal are published on the EUR-Lex website to allow the public to verify the authenticity.
In exceptional circumstances where it is not possible to publish the OJ on the EUR-Lex website, the publication is done in 
printed form
. Once the information systems are restored, the electronic version becomes the only authentic version.
Where certain information in the OJ is to be removed after publication in accordance with a decision of the 
Court of Justice of the European Union
 or in order to protect personal data in accordance with EU legal acts, in particular Regulation (EU) 
2018/1725
 (see 
summary
), a new version of the electronic edition of the OJ concerned must be made available, accompanied by a notice to that effect. The original version of the electronic edition of the OJ concerned must be kept in the Publications Office’s archives for an unlimited period.
In October 2023, the Publications Office introduced a new production mode. The OJ is now published individually as an authentic Official Journal in PDF format.
FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?
It has applied since 
1 July 2013
.
BACKGROUND
In 2007, the Court of Justice held in its 
ruling
 that EU 
legal acts
 are not enforceable against individuals if they have not been properly published in the OJ, and that making such acts available online does not equate to valid publication in the OJ, in the absence of any rules in that regard in EU law.
This regulation was adopted to allow the publication of the OJ in electronic form to constitute valid publication, thus making access to EU law both faster and more economical.
MAIN DOCUMENT
Council Regulation (EU) 
No 
216/2013
 of 
7 March 2013
 on the electronic publication of the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ L 69, 
13.3.2013
, 
pp. 1–3
).
Successive amendments to Regulation (EU) 
No 216/2013
 have been incorporated into the original text. This 
consolidated version
 is of documentary value only.
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Decision 
2009/496/EC, Euratom
 of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 
26 June 2009
 on the organisation and operation of the Publications Office of the European Union (OJ L 168, 
30.6.2009
, 
pp. 41–47
).
See 
consolidated version
.
Regulation (EU) 
No 
910/2014
 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 
23 July 2014
 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC (OJ L 257, 
28.8.2014
, 
pp. 73–114
).
last update 
6.6.2024

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