CELEX ID: 12016M/PRO/07

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Document:
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 202/266
PROTOCOL (No 7)
ON THE PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
THE HIGH CONTRACTING PARTIES,
CONSIDERING that, in accordance with Article 343 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 191 of the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community ("EAEC"), the European Union and the EAEC shall enjoy in the territories of the Member States such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the performance of their tasks,
HAVE AGREED upon the following provisions, which shall be annexed to the Treaty on European Union, the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community:
CHAPTER I
PROPERTY, FUNDS, ASSETS AND OPERATIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Article 1
The premises and buildings of the Union shall be inviolable. They shall be exempt from search, requisition, confiscation or expropriation. The property and assets of the Union shall not be the subject of any administrative or legal measure of constraint without the authorisation of the Court of Justice.
Article 2
The archives of the Union shall be inviolable.
Article 3
The Union, its assets, revenues and other property shall be exempt from all direct taxes.
The governments of the Member States shall, wherever possible, take the appropriate measures to remit or refund the amount of indirect taxes or sales taxes included in the price of movable or immovable property, where the Union makes, for its official use, substantial purchases the price of which includes taxes of this kind. These provisions shall not be applied, however, so as to have the effect of distorting competition within the Union.
No exemption shall be granted in respect of taxes and dues which amount merely to charges for public utility services.
Article 4
The Union shall be exempt from all customs duties, prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports in respect of articles intended for its official use: articles so imported shall not be disposed of, whether or not in return for payment, in the territory of the country into which they have been imported, except under conditions approved by the government of that country.
The Union shall also be exempt from any customs duties and any prohibitions and restrictions on import and exports in respect of its publications.
CHAPTER II
COMMUNICATIONS AND 
LAISSEZ-PASSER
Article 5
(ex Article 6)
For their official communications and the transmission of all their documents, the institutions of the Union shall enjoy in the territory of each Member State the treatment accorded by that State to diplomatic missions.
Official correspondence and other official communications of the institutions of the Union shall not be subject to censorship.
Article 6
(ex Article 7)
Laissez-passer
 in a form to be prescribed by the Council, acting by a simple majority, which shall be recognised as valid travel documents by the authorities of the Member States, may be issued to members and servants of the institutions of the Union by the Presidents of these institutions. These 
laissez-passer
 shall be issued to officials and other servants under conditions laid down in the Staff Regulations of Officials and the Conditions of Employment of other servants of the Union.
The Commission may conclude agreements for these 
laissez-passer
 to be recognised as valid travel documents within the territory of third countries.
CHAPTER III
MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Article 7
(ex Article 8)
No administrative or other restriction shall be imposed on the free movement of Members of the European Parliament travelling to or from the place of meeting of the European Parliament.
Members of the European Parliament shall, in respect of customs and exchange control, be accorded:
(a)
by their own government, the same facilities as those accorded to senior officials travelling abroad on temporary official missions;
(b)
by the government of other Member States, the same facilities as those accorded to representatives of foreign governments on temporary official missions.
Article 8
(ex Article 9)
Members of the European Parliament shall not be subject to any form of inquiry, detention or legal proceedings in respect of opinions expressed or votes cast by them in the performance of their duties.
Article 9
(ex Article 10)
During the sessions of the European Parliament, its Members shall enjoy:
(a)
in the territory of their own State, the immunities accorded to members of their parliament;
(b)
in the territory of any other Member State, immunity from any measure of detention and from legal proceedings.
Immunity shall likewise apply to Members while they are travelling to and from the place of meeting of the European Parliament.
Immunity cannot be claimed when a Member is found in the act of committing an offence and shall not prevent the European Parliament from exercising its right to waive the immunity of one of its Members.
CHAPTER IV
REPRESENTATIVES OF MEMBER STATES TAKING PART IN THE WORK OF THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Article 10
(ex Article 11)
Representatives of Member States taking part in the work of the institutions of the Union, their advisers and technical experts shall, in the performance of their duties and during their travel to and from the place of meeting, enjoy the customary privileges, immunities and facilities.
This Article shall also apply to members of the advisory bodies of the Union.
CHAPTER V
OFFICIALS AND OTHER SERVANTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
Article 11
(ex Article 12)
In the territory of each Member State and whatever their nationality, officials and other servants of the Union shall:
(a)
subject to the provisions of the Treaties relating, on the one hand, to the rules on the liability of officials and other servants towards the Union and, on the other hand, to the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice of the European Union in disputes between the Union and its officials and other servants, be immune from legal proceedings in respect of acts performed by them in their official capacity, including their words spoken or written. They shall continue to enjoy this immunity after they have ceased to hold office;
(b)
together with their spouses and dependent members of their families, not be subject to immigration restrictions or to formalities for the registration of aliens;
(c)
in respect of currency or exchange regulations, be accorded the same facilities as are customarily accorded to officials of international organisations;
(d)
enjoy the right to import free of duty their furniture and effects at the time of first taking up their post in the country concerned, and the right to re-export free of duty their furniture and effects, on termination of their duties in that country, subject in either case to the conditions considered to be necessary by the government of the country in which this right is exercised;
(e)
have the right to import free of duty a motor car for their personal use, acquired either in the country of their last residence or in the country of which they are nationals on the terms ruling in the home market in that country, and to re-export it free of duty, subject in either case to the conditions considered to be necessary by the government of the country concerned.
Article 12
(ex Article 13)
Officials and other servants of the Union shall be liable to a tax for the benefit of the Union on salaries, wages and emoluments paid to them by the Union, in accordance with the conditions and procedure laid down by the European Parliament and the Council, acting by means of regulations in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consultation of the institutions concerned.
They shall be exempt from national taxes on salaries, wages and emoluments paid by the Union.
Article 13
(ex Article 14)
In the application of income tax, wealth tax and death duties and in the application of conventions on the avoidance of double taxation concluded between Member States of the Union, officials and other servants of the Union who, solely by reason of the performance of their duties in the service of the Union, establish their residence in the territory of a Member State other than their country of domicile for tax purposes at the time of entering the service of the Union, shall be considered, both in the country of their actual residence and in the country of domicile for tax purposes, as having maintained their domicile in the latter country provided that it is a member of the Union. This provision shall also apply to a spouse, to the extent that the latter is not separately engaged in a gainful occupation, and to children dependent on and in the care of the persons referred to in this Article.
Movable property belonging to persons referred to in the preceding paragraph and situated in the territory of the country where they are staying shall be exempt from death duties in that country; such property shall, for the assessment of such duty, be considered as being in the country of domicile for tax purposes, subject to the rights of third countries and to the possible application of provisions of international conventions on double taxation.
Any domicile acquired solely by reason of the performance of duties in the service of other international organisations shall not be taken into consideration in applying the provisions of this Article.
Article 14
(ex Article 15)
The European Parliament and the Council, acting by means of regulations in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and after consultation of the institutions concerned, shall lay down the scheme of social security benefits for officials and other servants of the Union.
Article 15
(ex Article 16)
The European Parliament and the Council, acting by means of regulations in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure, and after consulting the other institutions concerned, shall determine the categories of officials and other servants of the Union to whom the provisions of Article 11, the second paragraph of Article 12, and Article 13 shall apply, in whole or in part.
The names, grades and addresses of officials and other servants included in such categories shall be communicated periodically to the governments of the Member States.
CHAPTER VI
PRIVILEGES AND IMMUNITIES OF MISSIONS OF THIRD COUNTRIES ACCREDITED TO THE EUROPEAN UNION
Article 16
(ex Article 17)
The Member State in whose territory the Union has its seat shall accord the customary diplomatic immunities and privileges to missions of third countries accredited to the Union.
CHAPTER VII
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 17
(ex Article 18)
Privileges, immunities and facilities shall be accorded to officials and other servants of the Union solely in the interests of the Union.
Each institution of the Union shall be required to waive the immunity accorded to an official or other servant wherever that institution considers that the waiver of such immunity is not contrary to the interests of the Union.
Article 18
(ex Article 19)
The institutions of the Union shall, for the purpose of applying this Protocol, cooperate with the responsible authorities of the Member States concerned.
Article 19
(ex Article 20)
Articles 11 to 14 and Article 17 shall apply to the President of the European Council.
They shall also apply to Members of the Commission.
Article 20
(ex Article 21)
Articles 11 to 14 and Article 17 shall apply to the Judges, the Advocates-General, the Registrars and the Assistant Rapporteurs of the Court of Justice of the European Union, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 3 of the Protocol on the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union relating to immunity from legal proceedings of Judges and Advocates-General.
Article 21
(ex Article 22)
This Protocol shall also apply to the European Investment Bank, to the members of its organs, to its staff and to the representatives of the Member States taking part in its activities, without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol on the Statute of the Bank.
The European Investment Bank shall in addition be exempt from any form of taxation or imposition of a like nature on the occasion of any increase in its capital and from the various formalities which may be connected therewith in the State where the Bank has its seat. Similarly, its dissolution or liquidation shall not give rise to any imposition. Finally, the activities of the Bank and of its organs carried on in accordance with its Statute shall not be subject to any turnover tax.
Article 22
(ex Article 23)
This Protocol shall also apply to the European Central Bank, to the members of its organs and to its staff, without prejudice to the provisions of the Protocol on the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank.
The European Central Bank shall, in addition, be exempt from any form of taxation or imposition of a like nature on the occasion of any increase in its capital and from the various formalities which may be connected therewith in the State where the bank has its seat. The activities of the Bank and of its organs carried on in accordance with the Statute of the European System of Central Banks and of the European Central Bank shall not be subject to any turnover tax.

Summary:
Treaty of Brussels (Merger Treaty)
SUMMARY OF:
Treaty establishing a single Council and a single Commission of
                    the European Communities
WHAT WAS THE AIM OF THE TREATY?
The Brussels Treaty establishing a single Council and single Commission of the
                European Communities (known as the ‘Merger Treaty’) was signed with the explicit
                intention of unifying the 3 then-existing European Communities (EC) — the 
European Coal and Steel Community
 (ECSC), the 
European Economic Community
 (EEC) and the 
European Atomic Energy Community
 (EAEC or more commonly known
                as ‘Euratom’).
While keeping the 3 communities legally independent, the Merger Treaty rationalised
                their institutions by merging their then still independent executive bodies — thus
                bringing to 5 the number of common European institutions — and amended the 3
                community treaties accordingly.
KEY POINTS
A single Council and a single Commission
The 
executive bodies
 were 
merged
 as follows:
The Council of the European Communities — today’s 
Council of the European Union
 — replaced as a
                            single body the Special Council of Ministers of the ECSC, the Council of
                            the EEC and the Council of Euratom;
The Commission of the European Communities — today’s 
European Commission
 — replaced as a single body
                            the High Authority of the ECSC, the Commission of the EEC and the
                            Commission of Euratom.
However, the new single executive bodies would 
continue to act in
                        accordance with the treaties governing each of the 3 communities
,
                    as well as in accordance with the new articles of this treaty.
The 
rules governing their composition and functioning were assembled in
                        a single body of text
 and the corresponding articles of the EC
                    treaties were repealed.
Where there were differences between the 3 treaties 
regarding the
                        Council
:
the duration of the presidency was aligned with the longer one provided
                            by the EEC and Euratom Treaties;
the rules on decision-making were harmonised only in so far as required
                            for acts adopted on the basis of the 3 treaties (i.e. concerning the
                            common institutions, budget and administration);
the concepts of 
simple majority
, 
qualified majority
 and 
unanimity
 were harmonised along the lines of the
                            EEC and Euratom Treaties;
Coreper
 was formalised as a preparatory body of
                            the Council and extended to the ECSC Treaty.
Where there were differences between the 3 treaties 
regarding the
                        Commission
:
the number of members was set at 9;
the rules on the designation of the members and their status, and on the
                            functioning of the Commission in general, were aligned with those of the
                            EEC Treaty;
the date on which the Commission is required to publish its general
                            report on the activities of the European Communities was harmonised, as
                            well as the date on which the Parliamentary Assembly should meet in
                            order to examine this report;
the rules on how the Commission is politically accountable to the
                            Parliamentary Assembly were aligned with those of the EEC and Euratom
                            Treaties, with the possibility of censuring the Commission’s management
                            at any time (and not only upon the examination of the yearly general
                            report).
A single administrative budget for the EC
The budget covers the expenditure of all the EC institutions, including those of
                    the Parliamentary Assembly and of the Court of Justice.
The expenditure for interventions under the ECSC Treaty and the Research and
                    Development expenditures under the Euratom Treaty were, however, kept under
                    separate budgets.
A single administration for the EC
All the officials and other agents of the EC institutions belong to a single
                    administration.
The rules governing them and their rights and obligations are uniform and derive
                    from a single status.
The rules on the responsibility of the EC in the case of injury caused by a
                    personal fault of an official or agent for their action are unified.
The privileges and immunities granted to the EC institutions as well as to their
                    officials and other agents are also unified in a single protocol to the
                    treaty.
The seats of the EC institutions
To respond to legal objections raised by Luxembourg, the governments of the EC
                    countries were given the power to decide by mutual agreement on the solution to
                    be found with regard to establishing the seats of the executive bodies of the EC
                    in Brussels. The decision was taken the same day as the signing of the Treaty
                    and consisted of designating 
Brussels
 as the
                        
provisional seat
.
FROM WHEN DID THE TREATY APPLY?
Signed on 
8 April 1965
, it applied from 
1 July 1967
.
BACKGROUND
Before the Merger Treaty, the 3 European Communities already shared some common
                institutions by virtue of the 1957 
Convention on certain institutions common to the
                    European Communities
: the Parliamentary Assembly (later to become the 
European Parliament
), the 
Court of Justice
 and the 
Economic and Social Committee
.
The Merger Treaty was a major stepping stone toward the modern EU. The treaty was
                repealed — with the exception of the Protocol of 
8 April
                    1965
 on the privileges and immunities of the European Communities — by
                the 
Amsterdam Treaty
 signed on 
2
                    October 1997
 which entered into force on 
1
                    May 1999
.
For more information, see:
The First Treaties
(
European Parliament
)
EU history
 (
Council of
                        the EU
)
EU treaties
 (
European
                    Commission
)
Treaties overview
 (
EUR-Lex
).
MAIN DOCUMENTS
Treaty establishing a Single Council and a Single Commission of
                    the European Communities
 (OJ 152, 
13.7.1967
, 
pp. 2-17
 (DE, FR, IT,
                NL))
Protocol on the privileges and immunities of the European
                    Communities
 (OJ C 202, 
7.6.2016
, 
pp. 266-272
)
RELATED DOCUMENTS
Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community
Treaty establishing the European Economic Community
Successive amendments to the treaty have been incorporated into the basic text. This
                    
consolidated version
 is for
                reference only.
Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community
Convention on certain institutions common to the
                    European Communities
Treaty of Amsterdam
 amending the Treaty on European Union, the
                Treaties establishing the European Communities and certain related acts (OJ C 340,
                    
10.11.1997
, 
pp.
                    1-144
)
See 
consolidated version
.
last update 
21.3.2018

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