CONTENTS
HEADS Introduction of signatories
TITLE1 Common Provisions
TITLE2 Provisions Amending the Treaty Establishing the European
Ecomonic Community with a View to Establishing the European
Community
TITLE3 Provisions Amending the Treaty Establishing the European
Coal and Steel Community
TITLE4 Provisions Amending the Treaty Establishing the European
Atomic Energy Community
TITLE5 Provisions on a Common Foreign & Security Policy
TITLE6 Provisions on Cooperation in the Fields of Justice & Home
Affairs
TITLE7 Final Provisions
PROTOCOLS Protocols (broken up into Protocols 1-5 and Protocols 6-17)
Final Act
May of 1992 Declaration on Protocol No. 17, made on the 1st May 1992
TITLE3
PROVISIONS AMENDING THE TREATY ESTABLISHING THE
EUROPEAN COAL AND STEEL COMMUNITY
ARTICLE H
The Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community shall
be amended in accordance with the provisions of this Article.
1) Article 7 shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 7
The institutions of the Community shall be:
- a HIGH AUTHORITY (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission");
- a COMMON ASSEMBLY (hereinafter referred to as "the European
Parliament");
- a SPECIAL COUNCIL OF MINISTERS (hereinafter referred to as "the
Council");
- a COURT OF JUSTICE;
- a COURT OF AUDITORS.
The Commission shall be assisted by a Consultative Committee."
2) The following Articles shall be inserted:
"ARTICLE 9
- The Commission shall consist of seventeen members, who shall be
chosen on the grounds of their general competence and whose
independence is beyond doubt.
The number of members of the Commission may be altered by the
Council, acting unanimously.
Only nationals of the Member States may be members of the
Commission.
The commission must include at least one national of each of the
Member States, but may not include more than two members having
the nationality of the same State.
- The members of the Commission shall, in the general interest of the
Community, be completely independent in the performance of their
duties.
In the performance of these duties, they shall neither seek nor take
instructions from any government or from any other body. They shall
refrain from any action incompatible with their duties. Each Member
State undertakes to respect this principle and not to seek to influence
the members of the Commission in the performance of their tasks.
The members of the Commission may not, during their term of office,
engage in any other occupation whether gainful or not. When entering
upon their duties they shall give a solemn undertaking that, both
during and after their term of office, they will respect the obligations
arising therefrom and in particular their duty to behave with integrity
and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they have ceased to
hold office, of certain appointments or benefits. In the event of any
breach of these obligations, the Court of Justice may, on application
by the Council or the Commission, rule that the member concerned be,
according to the circumstances, either compulsorily retired in
accordance with Article 12a or deprived of his right to a pension or
other benefits in its stead.
ARTICLE 10
- The members of the Commission shall be appointed in accordance
with the procedure referred to in paragraph 2, for a period of five
years, subject, if need be, to Article 24.
Their term of office shall be renewable.
- The governments of the Member States shall nominate by common
accord, after consulting the European Parliament, the person they
intend to appoint as President of the Commission.
The governments of the Members States shall, in consultation with the
nominee for the President, nominate the other persons whom they
intend to appoint as members of the Commission.
The President and the other members of the Commission thus
nominated shall be subject as a body to a vote of approval by the
European Parliament. After approval by the European Parliament, the
President and the other members of the Commission shall be
appointed by common accord of the Member States.
- Paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be applied for the first time to the
President and the other members of the Commission whose term of
office begins on 7 January 1995.
The President and the other members of the Commission whose term
of office beings on 7 January 1993 shall be appointed by common
accord of the governments of the Member States. Their term of office
shall expire on 6 January 1995.
ARTICLE 11
The Commission may appoint a Vice-President or two Vice-Presidents
from among its members.
ARTICLE 12
Apart from normal replacement, or death, the duties of a member of the
Commission shall end when he resigns or is compulsorily retired.
The vacancy thus caused shall be filled for the remainder of the
members term of office by a new member appointed by common
accord of the governments of the Member States. The Council may,
acting unanimously, decide that such a vacancy need not be filled.
In the event of resignation, compulsory retirement or death, the
President shall be replaced for the remainder of his term of office. The
procedure laid down in Article 10(2) shall be applicable for the
replacement of the President.
Save in the case of compulsory retirement under Article 12a, members
of the Commission shall remain in office until they have been
replaced.
ARTICLE 12a
If any member of the Commission no longer fulfils the conditions
required for the performance of his duties or if he has been guilty of
serious misconduct, the Court of Justice may, on application by the
Council or the Commission, compulsorily retire him.
ARTICLE 13
The Commission shall act by a majority of the number of members
provided for in Article 9.
A meeting of the Commission shall be valid only if the number of
members laid down in its rules of procedure is present."
3) Article 16 shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 16
The Commission shall make all appropriate administrative
arrangements for the operation of its departments.
It may set up study committees, including an economic study
committee.
The Council and the Commission shall consult each other and shall
settle by common accord their methods of co-operation.
The Commission shall adopt its rules of procedure so as to ensure
that both it and its departments operate in accordance with the
provisions of this Treaty. It shall ensure that these rules are
published."
4) The following article shall be inserted:
"ARTICLE 17
The commission shall publish annually, not later than one month
before the opening of the session of the European Parliament, a
general report on the activities of the Community."
5) The following subparagraph shall be added to Article 18:
"The Council shall, acting by a qualified majority, determine any
payment to be made instead of remuneration."
6) The following Articles shall be inserted:
"ARTICLE 20a
The European Parliament may, acting by a majority of its members,
request the Commission to submit any appropriate proposal on
matters which it considers that a Community act is required for the
purpose of implementing this Treaty.
ARTICLE 20b
In the course of its duties, the European Parliament may, at the
request of a quarter of its members, set up a temporary Committee of
Inquiry to investigate, without prejudice to the powers conferred by
this Treaty on other institutions or bodies, alleged contraventions or
maladministration in the implementation of Community law, except
where the alleged facts are being examined before a Court and while
the case is still subject to legal proceedings.
The temporary Committee of Inquiry shall cease to exist on the
submission of its report.
The detailed provisions governing the exercise of the right of inquiry
shall be determined by common accord of the European Parliament,
the Council, and the Commission.
ARTICLE 20c
Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or
having its registered office in a Member State, shall have the right to
address, individually or in association with other citizens or persons,
a petition to the European Parliament on a matter which comes within
the Community's field's of activity and which affects him, her or it
directly.
ARTICLE 20d
- The European Parliament shall appoint an Ombudsman empowered
to receive complaints from any citizen of the Union or any natural or
legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State
concerning instances of maladministration in the activities of the
Community institutions or bodies, with the exception of the Court of
Justice and the Court of First Instance acting in their judicial role.
In accordance with his duties, the Ombudsman shall conduct enquiries
for which he finds grounds, either on his own initiative or on the basis
of complaints submitted to him direct or through a member of the
European Parliament, except where the alleged facts are or have been
the subject of legal proceedings. Where the Ombudsman establishes
an instance of maladministration, he shall refer the matter to the
institution concerned, which shall have a period of three months in
which to inform him of its views. The Ombudsman shall then forward a
report to the European Parliament, and the institution concerned. The
person lodging the complaint shall be informed of the outcome of such
inquiries.
The Ombudsman shall submit an annual report to the European
Parliament on the outcome of his inquiries.
- The Ombudsman shall be appointed after each election of the
European parliament for the duration of its term of office. The
Ombudsman shall be eligible for reappointment.
The Ombudsman may be dismissed by the Court of Justice at the
request of the European Parliament if he no longer fulfils the
conditions required for the performance of his duties or if he is guilty
of serious misconduct.
- The Ombudsman shall be completely independent in the
performance of his duties. In the performance of those duties he shall
neither seek nor take instructions from any body. The Ombudsman
may not, during his term of office, engage in any other occupation,
whether gainful or not.
- The European Parliament shall, after seeking an opinion from the
Commission and with the approval of the Council acting by a qualified
majority, lay down the regulations and general conditions governing
the performance of the Ombudsman's duties."
7) Paragraph 3 of Article 21 shall be replaced by the following:
"3. The European Parliament shall draw up proposals for elections by
direct universal suffrage in accordance with a uniform procedure in all
Member States.
The Council shall, acting unanimously after obtaining the assent of the
European Parliament, which shall act by a majority of its component
members, lay down the appropriate provisions, which it shall
recommend to Member States for adoption in accordance with their
respective constitutional requirements."
8) Article 24 shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 24
The European Parliament shall discuss in open session the general
report submitted to it by the Commission.
If a motion of censure on the activities of the Commission is tabled
before it, the European Parliament shall not vote thereon until at least
three days after the motion has been tabled and only by open vote.
If a motion of censure is carried by a two-thirds majority of the votes
cast, representing a majority of the members of the European
Parliament, the members of the Commission shall resign as a body.
They shall continue to deal with current business until they are
replaced in accordance with Article 10. In this case, the term of office
the members of the Commission appointed to replace them shall
expire on the date on which the term of office of the members of the
Commission obliged to resign as a body would have expired."
9) The following Articles shall be inserted:
"ARTICLE 27
The Council shall consist of a representative of each Member State at
a ministerial level, authorized to commit the government of that
Member State.
The office of President shall be held in turn by each Member State in
the Council for a term of six months, in the following order of Member
States:
- for a first cycle of six years: Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece,
Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal,
United Kingdom;
- for the following cycle of six years: Denmark, Belgium, Greece,
Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Luxembourg,
United Kingdom, Portugal.
ARTICLE 27a
The Council shall meet when convened by its President on his own
initiative or at the request of one of its members or of the
Commission."
10) The following Article shall be inserted:
"ARTICLE 29
The Council shall, acting by a qualified majority, determine the
salaries, allowances and pensions of the President and members of
the Commission, and of the President, Judges, Advocates-General and
Registrar of the Court of Justice. It shall also, again by a qualified
majority, determine any payment to be made instead of remuneration,
ARTICLE 30
- A committee consisting of the Permanent Representatives of the
Member States shall be responsible for preparing the work of the
Council and for carrying out the tasks assigned to it by the Council.
- The Council shall be assisted by a General Secretariat, under the
direction of a Secretary General. The Secretary-General shall be
appointed by the Council acting unanimously.
The Council shall decide on the organization of the General
Secretariat.
- The Council shall adopt its rules of procedure."
11) Article 32 shall be replaced by the following;
"ARTICLE 32
The Court of Justice shall consist of thirteen Judges.
The Court of Justice shall sit in plenary session. It may, however, form
Chambers, each consisting of three or five Judges, either to undertake
certain preparatory inquiries, or to adjudicate on particular categories
of cases in accordance with the rules laid down for these purposes.
The Court of Justice shall sit in plenary session when a Member State
or a Community institution that is a party to the proceedings so
requests.
Should the Court of Justice so request, the Council may, acting
unanimously, increase the number of Judges and make the necessary
adjustments to the second and third paragraphs of this Article and to
the second paragraph of Article 32b."
12) Article 32d shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 32d
- A Court of First Instance shall be attached to the Court of Justice
with jurisdiction to hear and determine at first instance, subject to a
right of appeal to the Court of Justice on points of law only and in
accordance with the conditions laid down by the Statute, certain
classes of action or proceeding defined in accordance with the
conditions laid down by the Statute, certain classes of action or
proceeding defined in accordance with the conditions laid down in
paragraph 2. The Court of First Instance shall not be competent to hear
and determine questions referred for a preliminary ruling under Article
41.
- At the request of the Court of Justice and after consulting the
European Parliament and the Commission, the Council, acting
unanimously, shall determine the classes of action or proceeding
referred to in paragraph 1, and the composition of the Court of First
instance and shall adopt the necessary adjustments and additional
provisions to the Statute of the Court of Justice. Unless the Council
decides otherwise, the provisions of this Treaty relating to the Court of
Justice, in particular the provisions of the Protocol on the Statute of the
Court of Justice, shall apply to the Court of the First Instance.
- The members of the Court of First instance shall be chosen from
persons whose independence is beyond doubt and who possess the
ability required for appointment to judicial office; they shall be
appointed by common accord of the governments of the Member
States for a term of six years. The membership shall be partially
renewed every three years. Retiring members shall be eligible for reappointment.
- The Court of First Instance shall establish its rules of procedure in
agreement with the Court of Justice. Those rules shall require the
unanimous approval of the Council."
13) Article 33 shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 33
The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction in actions brought by a
Member State or by the Council to have decisions or
recommendations of the Commission declared void on grounds of lack
of competence, infringement of an essential procedural requirement,
infringement of this Treaty or of any rule of law relating to its
application, or misuse of powers. The Court of Justice may not,
however, examine the evaluation of the situation, resulting from
economic facts or circumstances, in the light of which the Commission
took its decisions or made its recommendations, save where the
Commission is alleged to have misused its powers or to have
manifestly failed to observe the provisions of the Treaty or any rule of
law relating to its application.
Undertakings or associations referred to in Article 48 may, under the
same conditions, institute proceedings against decisions or
recommendations concerning them which are individual in character or
against general decisions or recommendations which they consider to
involve a misuse of powers affecting them.
The proceedings provided for in the first two paragraphs of this Article
shall be instituted within one month of the notification or publication,
as the case may be, of the decision or recommendation.
The Court of Justice shall have jurisdiction under the same conditions
in actions brought by the European Parliament for the purpose of
protecting its prerogatives."
14) The following chapter shall be inserted:
"CHAPTER V
THE COURT OF AUDITORS
ARTICLE 45a
The Court of Auditors shall carry out the audit.
ARTICLE 45b
- The Court of Auditors shall consist of twelve members.
- The members of the Court of Auditors shall be chosen from among
persons who belong or have belonged in their respective countries to
external audit bodies or who are especially qualified for this office.
Their independence must be beyond doubt.
- The members of the Court of Auditors shall be appointed for a term
of six years by the Council, acting unanimously after consulting the
European Parliament.
However, when the first appointments are made, four members of the
Court of Auditors, chosen by lot, shall be appointed for a term of office
of four years only.
The members of the Court of Auditors shall be eligible for
reappointment.
They shall elect the President of the Court of Auditors from among their
number for a term of three years. The President may be re-elected.
- The members of the Court of Auditors shall, in the general interest of
the Community, be completely independent in the performance of their
duties.
In the performance of these duties, they shall neither seek nor take
instructions from any government or from any other body. They shall
refrain from any action incompatible with their duties.
- The members of the Court of Auditors may not, during their term of
office, engage in any other occupation, whether gainful or not. When
entering upon their duties they shall give a solemn undertaking that,
both during and after their term of office, they will respect the
obligations arising therefrom and in particular their duty to behave
with integrity and discretion as regards the acceptance, after they
have ceased to hold office, of certain appointments or benefits.
- Apart from normal replacement, or death, the duties of a member of
the Court of Auditors shall end when he resigns, or is compulsorily
retired by a ruling of the Court of Justice pursuant to paragraph 7.
The vacancy thus caused shall be filled for the remainder of the
member's term of office.
Save in the case of compulsory retirement, members of the Court of
Auditors shall remain in office until they have been replaced.
- A member of the Court of Auditors may be deprived of his office or of
his right to a pension or other benefits in its stead only if the Court of
Justice, at the request of the Court of Auditors, finds that he no longer
fulfills the requisite conditions or meets the obligations arising from
his office.
- The Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall determine the
conditions of employment of the President and the members of the
Court of Auditors and in particular their salaries, allowances and
pensions. It shall also, by the same majority, determine any payment
to be made instead of remuneration.
- The provisions of the Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of
the European Communities applicable to the Judges of the Court of
Justice shall also apply to the members of the Court of Auditors.
ARTICLE 45c
- The Court of Auditors shall examine the accounts of all revenue and
expenditure of the Community. It shall also examine the accounts of
all revenue and expenditure of all bodies set up by the Community in
so far as the relevant constituent instrument does not preclude such
examination.
The Court of Auditors shall provide the European Parliament and the
Council with a statement of assurance as to the reliability of the
accounts and the legality and regularity of the underlying transactions.
- The Court of Auditors shall examine whether all revenue referred to
in paragraph 1 has been received and all expenditure referred to in
that paragraph has been incurred in a lawful and regular manner and
whether the financial management has been sound.
The audit of revenue shall be carried out on the basis of the amounts
established as due and the amounts actually paid to the community.
The audit of expenditure shall be carried out on the basis both of
commitments undertaken and payments made.
These audits may be carried out before the closure of accounts for the
financial year in question.
- The audit shall be based on records and, if necessary, performed
on the spot in the other institutions of the Community and in the
Member States. In the Member States the audit shall be carried out in
liaison with the national audit bodies or, if these do not have the
necessary powers, with the competent national departments. Theses
bodies or departments shall inform the Court of Auditors whether they
intend to take part in the audit.
The other institutions of the Community and the national audit bodies
or, if these do not have the necessary powers, the competent national
departments, shall forward to the Court of Auditors, at its request, any
document or information necessary to carry out its task.
- The Court of Auditors shall draw up an annual report after the close
of each financial year. It shall be forwarded to the other institutions of
the Community and shall be published, together with the replies of
these institutions to the observations of the Court of Auditors, in the
Official Journal of the European Communities.
The Court of Auditors may also, at any time, submit observations,
particularly in the form of special reports, on specific questions and
deliver opinions at the request of one of the other institutions of the
Community.
It shall adopt its annual reports, special reports or opinions by a
majority of its members.
It shall assist the Europe and Parliament and the Council in exercising
their powers of control over the implementation of the budget.
- The Court of Auditors shall also draw up a separate annual report
stating whether the accounting other than that for the expenditure and
revenue referred to in paragraph 1 and the financial management by
the Commission relating thereto have been effected in a regular
manner. It shall draw up this report within six months of the end of the
financial year to which the accounts refer and shall submit it to the
Commission and the Council. The Commission shall forward it to the
European Parliament."
15) Article 78c shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 78c
The Commission shall implement the administrative budget, in
accordance with the provisions of the regulations made pursuant to
Article 78h, on its own responsibility and within the limits of the
appropriations, having regard to the principles of sound financial
management.
The regulations shall lay down detailed rules for each institution
concerning its part in effecting its own expenditure.
Within the administrative budget, the Commission may, subject to the
limits and conditions laid down in the regulations made pursuant to
Article 78h, transfer appropriations from one chapter to another or from
one subdivision to another."
16) Articles 78e and 78f shall be repealed.
17) Article 78g shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 78g
- The European Parliament, acting on a recommendation from the
Council, which shall act by a qualified majority, shall give a discharge
to the Commission in respect of the implementation of the
administrative budget. To this end, the Council and the European
Parliament in turn shall examine the account and the financial
statement referred to in Article 78d, the annual report by the Court of
Auditors together with the replies of the institutions under audit to the
observations of the Court of Auditors, and any relevant special reports
by the Court of Auditors.
- Before giving a discharge to the Commission, or for any other
purpose in connection with the exercise of its powers over the
implementation of the administrative budget, the European Parliament
may ask to hear the Commission give evidence with regard to the
execution of expenditure or the operation of financial control systems.
The Commission shall submit any necessary information to the
European Parliament at the latter's request.
- The Commission shall take all appropriate steps to act on the
observations in the decisions giving discharge on other observations
by the European Parliament relating to the execution of expenditure,
as well as on comments accompanying the recommendations on
discharge adopted by the Council.
At the request of the European Parliament or Council, the Commission
shall report on the measures taken in the light of these observations
and comments and in particular on the instructions given to the
departments which are responsible for the implementation of the
administrative budget. These reports shall also be forwarded to the
Court of Auditors."
18) Article 78h shall be replaced by the following:
"ARTICLE 78h
The Council, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission
and after consulting the European Parliament and obtaining the
opinion of the Court of Auditors, shall:
a) make Financial Regulations specifying in particular the procedure to
be adopted for establishing the implementing the administrative
budget and for presenting and auditing accounts;
b) determine the methods and procedure whereby the budget revenue
provided under the arrangements relating to the Communities' own
resources shall be made available to the Commission, and determine
the measures to be applied, if need be, to meet cash requirements;
c) lay down rules concerning the responsibility of financial controllers,
authorizing officers and accounting officers, and concerning
appropriate arrangements for inspection."
19) The following Article shall be inserted:
"ARTICLE 78i
Member States shall take the same measures to counter fraud
affecting the financial interests of the Community as they take to
counter fraud affecting their own financial interests.
Without prejudice to other provisions of this Treaty, Member States
shall co-ordinate their action aimed at protecting the financial interests
of the Community against fraud. To this end they shall organize, with
the help of the Commission, close and regular co-operation between
the competent departments of their administrations."
20) Article 79(a) shall be replaced by the following:
"(a) This Treaty shall not apply to the Faroe Islands."
21) Articles 96 and 98 shall be repealed.