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EC TREATY
TITLE IV (ex Title IIIa)
Visas, Asylum, Immigration and other Policies
related to Free Movement of Persons
Article 61 (ex Article 73i)
In order to establish progressively an area
of freedom, security and justice, the Council shall adopt:
(a) within a period of five years after the
entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, measures aimed at
ensuring the free movement of persons in accordance with Article
14, in conjunction with directly related flanking measures with
respect to external border controls, asylum and immigration, in
accordance with the provisions of Article 62(2) and (3) and Article
63(1)(a) and (2)(a), and measures to prevent and combat crime
in accordance with the provisions of Article 31(e) of the Treaty
on European Union;
(b) other measures in the fields of asylum,
immigration and safeguarding the rights of nationals of third
countries, in accordance with the provisions of Article 63;
(c) measures in the field of judicial cooperation
in civil matters as provided for in Article 65;
(d) appropriate measures to encourage and
strengthen administrative cooperation, as provided for in Article
66;
(e) measures in the field of police and judicial
cooperation in criminal matters aimed at a high level of security
by preventing and combating crime within the Union in accordance
with the provisions of the Treaty on European Union.
Article 62 (ex Article 73j)
The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 67, shall, within a period of five years
after the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, adopt:
(1) measures with a view to ensuring, in
compliance with Article 14, the absence of any controls on persons,
be they citizens of the Union or nationals of third countries,
when crossing internal borders;
(2) measures on the crossing of the external
borders of the Member States which shall establish:
(a) standards and procedures to be followed
by Member States in carrying out checks on persons at such borders;
(b) rules on visas for intended stays of
no more than three months, including:
(i) the
list of third countries whose nationals must be in possession
of visas when crossing the external borders and those whose nationals
are exempt from that requirement;
(ii) the
procedures and conditions for issuing visas by Member States;
(iii) a
uniform format for visas;
(iv) rules
on a uniform visa;
(3) measures setting out the conditions
under which nationals of third countries shall have the freedom
to travel within the territory of the Member States during a period
of no more than three months.
Article 63 (ex Article 73k)
The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 67, shall, within a period of five years
after the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, adopt:
(1) measures on asylum, in accordance with
the Geneva Convention of 28 July 1951 and the Protocol of 31 January
1967 relating to the status of refugees and other relevant treaties,
within the following areas:
(a) criteria and mechanisms for determining
which Member State is responsible for considering an application
for asylum submitted by a national of a third country in one of
the Member States,
(b) minimum standards on the reception of
asylum seekers in Member States,
(c) minimum standards with respect to the
qualification of nationals of third countries as refugees,
(d) minimum standards on procedures in Member
States for granting or withdrawing refugee status;
(2) measures on refugees and displaced persons
within the following areas:
(a) minimum standards for giving temporary
protection to displaced persons from third countries who cannot
return to their country of origin and for persons who otherwise
need international protection,
(b) promoting a balance of effort between
Member States in receiving and bearing the consequences of receiving
refugees and displaced persons;
(3) measures on immigration policy within
the following areas:
(a) conditions of entry and residence, and
standards on procedures for the issue by Member States of long
term visas and residence permits, including those for the purpose
of family reunion,
(b) illegal immigration and illegal residence,
including repatriation of illegal residents;
(4) measures defining the rights and conditions
under which nationals of third countries who are legally resident
in a Member State may reside in other Member States.
Measures adopted by the Council pursuant to
points 3 and 4 shall not prevent any Member State from maintaining
or introducing in the areas concerned national provisions which
are compatible with this Treaty and with international agreements.
Measures to be adopted pursuant to points 2(b),
3(a) and 4 shall not be subject to the five year period referred
to above.
Article 64 (ex Article 73l)
1. This Title shall not affect the exercise
of the responsibilities incumbent upon Member States with regard
to the maintenance of law and order and the safeguarding of internal
security.
2. In the event of one or more Member States
being confronted with an emergency situation characterised by
a sudden inflow of nationals of third countries and without prejudice
to paragraph 1, the Council may, acting by qualified majority
on a proposal from the Commission, adopt provisional measures
of a duration not exceeding six months for the benefit of the
Member States concerned.
Article 65 (ex Article 73m)
Measures in the field of judicial cooperation
in civil matters having cross-border implications, to be taken
in accordance with Article 67 and insofar as necessary for the
proper functioning of the internal market, shall include:
(a) improving and simplifying:
— the
system for cross-border service of judicial and extrajudicial
documents;
— cooperation
in the taking of evidence;
— the
recognition and enforcement of decisions in civil and commercial
cases, including decisions in extrajudicial cases;
(b) promoting the compatibility of the rules
applicable in the Member States concerning the conflict of laws
and of jurisdiction;
(c) eliminating obstacles to the good functioning
of civil proceedings, if necessary by promoting the compatibility
of the rules on civil procedure applicable in the Member States.
Article 66 (ex Article 73n)
The Council, acting in accordance with the procedure
referred to in Article 67, shall take measures to ensure cooperation
between the relevant departments of the administrations of the
Member States in the areas covered by this Title, as well as between
those departments and the Commission.
Article 67 (ex Article 73o)
1. During a transitional period of five
years following the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam,
the Council shall act unanimously on a proposal from the Commission
or on the initiative of a Member State and after consulting the
European Parliament.
2. After this period of five years:
— the Council shall act on proposals
from the Commission; the Commission shall examine any request
made by a Member State that it submit a proposal to the Council;
— the Council, acting unanimously after
consulting the European Parliament, shall take a decision with
a view to providing for all or parts of the areas covered by this
Title to be governed by the procedure referred to in Article 251
and adapting the provisions relating to the powers of the Court
of Justice.
3. By derogation from paragraphs 1 and 2,
measures referred to in Article 62(2)(b) (i) and (iii) shall,
from the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam, be adopted
by the Council acting by a qualified majority on a proposal from
the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament.
4. By derogation from paragraph 2, measures
referred to in Article 62(2)(b) (ii) and (iv) shall, after a period
of five years following the entry into force of the Treaty of
Amsterdam, be adopted by the Council acting in accordance with
the procedure referred to in Article 251.
Article 68 (ex Article 73p)
1. Article 234 shall apply to this Title
under the following circumstances and conditions: where a question
on the interpretation of this Title or on the validity or interpretation
of acts of the institutions of the Community based on this Title
is raised in a case pending before a court or a tribunal of a
Member State against whose decisions there is no judicial remedy
under national law, that court or tribunal shall, if it considers
that a decision on the question is necessary to enable it to give
judgment, request the Court of Justice to give a ruling thereon.
2. In any event, the Court of Justice shall
not have jurisdiction to rule on any measure or decision taken
pursuant to Article 62(1) relating to the maintenance of law and
order and the safeguarding of internal security.
3. The Council, the Commission or a Member
State may request the Court of Justice to give a ruling on a question
of interpretation of this Title or of acts of the institutions
of the Community based on this Title. The ruling given by the
Court of Justice in response to such a request shall not apply
to judgements of courts or tribunals of the Member States which
have become res judicata.
Article 69 (ex Article 73q)
The application of this Title shall be subject
to the provisions of the Protocol on the position of the United
Kingdom and Ireland and to the Protocol on the position of Denmark
and without prejudice to the Protocol on the application of certain
aspects of Article 14 of the Treaty establishing the European
Community to the United Kingdom and to Ireland.
CHAPTER 3
Approximation of Laws
Article 94 (ex Article 100)
The Council shall, acting unanimously on a proposal
from the Commission and after consulting the European Parliament
and the Economic and Social Committee, issue directives for the
approximation of such laws, regulations or administrative provisions
of the Member States as directly affect the establishment or functioning
of the common market.
Article 95 (ex Article 100a)
1. By way of derogation from Article 94
and save where otherwise provided in this Treaty, the following
provisions shall apply for the achievement of the objectives set
out in Article 14. The Council shall, acting in accordance with
the procedure referred to in Article 251 and after consulting
the Economic and Social Committee, adopt the measures for the
approximation of the provisions laid down by law, regulation or
administrative action in Member States which have as their object
the establishment and functioning of the internal market.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to fiscal
provisions, to those relating to the free movement of persons
nor to those relating to the rights and interests of employed
persons.
3. The Commission, in its proposals envisaged
in paragraph 1 concerning health, safety, environmental protection
and consumer protection, will take as a base a high level of protection,
taking account in particular of any new development based on scientific
facts. Within their respective powers, the European Parliament
and the Council will also seek to achieve this objective.
4. If, after the adoption by the Council
or by the Commission of a harmonisation measure, a Member State
deems it necessary to maintain national provisions on grounds
of major needs referred to in Article 30, or relating to the protection
of the environment or the working environment, it shall notify
the Commission of these provisions as well as the grounds for
maintaining them.
5. Moreover, without prejudice to paragraph
4, if, after the adoption by the Council or by the Commission
of a harmonisation measure, a Member State deems it necessary
to introduce national provisions based on new scientific evidence
relating to the protection of the environment or the working environment
on grounds of a problem specific to that Member State arising
after the adoption of the harmonisation measure, it shall notify
the Commission of the envisaged provisions as well as the grounds
for introducing them.
6. The Commission shall, within six months
of the notifications as referred to in paragraphs 4 and 5, approve
or reject the national provisions involved after having verified
whether or not they are a means of arbitrary discrimination or
a disguised restriction on trade between Member States and whether
or not they shall constitute an obstacle to the functioning of
the internal market.
In the absence of a decision by the Commission
within this period the national provisions referred to in paragraphs
4 and 5 shall be deemed to have been approved.
When justified by the complexity of the matter
and in the absence of danger for human health, the Commission
may notify the Member State concerned that the period referred
to in this paragraph may be extended for a further period of up
to six months.
7. When, pursuant to paragraph 6, a Member
State is authorised to maintain or introduce national provisions
derogating from a harmonisation measure, the Commission shall
immediately examine whether to propose an adaptation to that measure.
8. When a Member State raises a specific
problem on public health in a field which has been the subject
of prior harmonisation measures, it shall bring it to the attention
of the Commission which shall immediately examine whether to propose
appropriate measures to the Council.
9. By way of derogation from the procedure
laid down in Articles 226 and 227, the Commisson and any Member
State may bring the matter directly before the Court of Justice
if it considers that another Member State is making improper use
of the powers provided for in this Article.
10. The harmonisation measures referred
to above shall, in appropriate cases, include a safeguard clause
authorising the Member States to take, for one or more of the
non-economic reasons referred to in Article 30, provisional measures
subject to a Community control procedure.
TITLE XIII (ex Title X)
Public Health
Article 152 (ex Article 129)
1. A high level of human health protection
shall be ensured in the definition and implementation of all Community
policies and activities.
Community action, which shall complement national
policies, shall be directed towards improving public health, preventing
human illness and diseases, and obviating sources of danger to
human health. Such action shall cover the fight against the major
health scourges, by promoting research into their causes, their
transmission and their prevention, as well as health information
and education.
The Community shall complement the Member States'
action in reducing drugs-related health damage, including information
and prevention.
2. The Community shall encourage cooperation
between the Member States in the areas referred to in this Article
and, if necessary, lend support to their action.
Member States shall, in liaison with the Commission,
coordinate among themselves their policies and programmes in the
areas referred to in paragraph 1. The Commission may, in close
contact with the Member States, take any useful initiative to
promote such coordination.
3. The Community and the Member States shall
foster cooperation with third countries and the competent international
organisations in the sphere of public health.
4. The Council, acting in accordance with
the procedure referred to in Article 251 and after consulting
the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions,
shall contribute to the achievement of the objectives referred
to in this Article through adopting:
(a) measures setting high standards of quality
and safety of organs and substances of human origin, blood and
blood derivatives; these measures shall not prevent any Member
State from maintaining or introducing more stringent protective
measures;
(b) by way of derogation from Article 37,
measures in the veterinary and phytosanitary fields which have
as their direct objective the protection of public health;
(c) incentive measures designed to protect
and improve human health, excluding any harmonisation of the laws
and regulations of the Member States.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority
on a proposal from the Commission, may also adopt recommendations
for the purposes set out in this Article.
5. Community action in the field of public
health shall fully respect the responsibilties of the Member States
for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical
care. In particular, measures referred to in paragraph 4(a) shall
not affect national provisions on the donation or medical use
of organs and blood.
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