— Interinstitutional Agreement of 22 December 1998 on common guidelines for the quality of drafting of Community legislation(2);
— Interinstitutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts(3);
— Joint Declaration of 13 June 2007 on practical arrangements for the codecision procedure(4);
— Joint Political Declaration of 27 October 2011 of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission on explanatory documents(5),
HAVE AGREED AS FOLLOWS:
I. COMMON COMMITMENTS AND OBJECTIVES
1.
The three Institutions hereby agree to pursue Better Law-Making by means of a series of initiatives and procedures, as set out in this Agreement.
2.
In exercising their powers and in compliance with the procedures laid down in the Treaties, and recalling the importance which they attach to the Community method, the three Institutions agree to observe general principles of Union law, such as democratic legitimacy, subsidiarity and proportionality, and legal certainty. They further agree to promote simplicity, clarity and consistency in the drafting of Union legislation and to promote the utmost transparency of the legislative process.
3.
The three Institutions agree that Union legislation should be comprehensible and clear, allow citizens, administrations and businesses to easily understand their rights and obligations, include appropriate reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements, avoid overregulation and administrative burdens, and be practical to implement.
II. PROGRAMMING
4.
The three Institutions agree to reinforce the Union's annual and multiannual programming in line with Article 17(1) of the Treaty on European Union, which entrusts the Commission with the task of initiating annual and multiannual programming.
Multiannual programming
5.
Upon the appointment of a new Commission, in order to facilitate longer-term planning, the three Institutions will exchange views on the principal policy objectives and priorities of the three Institutions for the new term as well as, wherever possible, on indicative timing.
The three Institutions will, on the Commission's initiative and as appropriate, draw up joint conclusions to be signed by the Presidents of the three Institutions.
The three Institutions will, on the Commission's initiative, carry out a mid-term review of those joint conclusions and adjust them as appropriate.
Annual programming – Commission Work Programme and interinstitutional programming
6.
The Commission will engage in a dialogue with the European Parliament and the Council respectively, both before and after the adoption of its annual Work Programme ("the Commission Work Programme"). That dialogue will encompass the following:
(a) early bilateral exchanges of views on initiatives for the upcoming year will take place in advance of the submission of a written contribution from the President of the Commission and its First Vice-President setting out in appropriate detail items of major political importance for the following year and containing indications with regard to intended withdrawals of Commission proposals ("letter of intent");
(b) following the debate on the State of the Union, and before the adoption of the Commission Work Programme, the European Parliament and the Council will have an exchange of views with the Commission on the basis of the letter of intent;
(c) an exchange of views will take place between the three Institutions on the adopted Commission Work Programme, pursuant to paragraph 7.
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