L 25716 Official Journal of the European Union 3.10.2007 DECISIONS ADOPTED JOINTLY BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL DECISION No 1149/2007/EC OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 25 September 2007 establishing for the period 2007-2013 the Specific Programme ‘Civil Justice’ as part of the General Programme ‘Fundamental Rights and Justice’ THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 61(c) and Article 67(5) thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty (1), Whereas: (1) The Community has set itself the objective of main- taining and developing an area of freedom, security and justice, in which the free movement of persons is assured. To this end, the Community is to adopt, inter alia, measures in the field of judicial cooperation in civil matters necessary for the proper functioning of the internal market. (2)  Following previous programmes, such as Grotius (3 and the Robert Schuman project (), Council Regulation (EC) No 743/2002 (4 established, for the period 2002-2006, a general Community framework of activities to facilitate (") Position of the European Parliament of 14 December 2006 (not yet published in the Official Journal), Council Common Position of 13 June 2007 (O] C 171 E, 24.7.2007, p. 1) and Position of the European Parliament of 11 July 2007 (not yet published in the Official Journal). Council Decision of 18 September 2007. (») Joint Action 96/636/JHA of 28 October 1996 adopted by the Council on the basis of Article K.3 of the Treaty on European Union, on a programme of incentives and exchanges for legal practi- tioners (Grotius) (O L 287, 8.11.1996, p. 3); Council Regulation (EC) No 290/2001 of 12 February 2001 extending the programme of incentives and exchanges for legal practitioners in the area of civil law (Grotius-civil) (O] L 43, 14.2.2001, p. 1). Decision No 1496/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998 establishing an action programme to improve awareness of Community law within the legal professions (Robert Schuman project) (O] L 196, 14.7.1998, p. 24). ) OJ L 115, 1.5.2002, p. 1. — > C) ©) ) 0 the implementation of judicial cooperation in civil matters. The Brussels European Council of 4 and 5 November 2004 adopted the Hague Programme: Strengthening freedom, security and justice in the European Union (%) (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Hague Programme’). In June 2005, the Council and the Commission adopted the Action Plan implementing the Hague Programme (). The ambitious objectives set by the Treaty and the Hague Programme should be achieved through the estab- lishment of a flexible and effective programme that will facilitate planning and implementation. The programme ‘Civil Justice’ should provide for initiatives taken by the Commission, in compliance with the principle of subsidiarity, for actions in support of organisations promoting and facilitating judicial coop- eration in civil matters, and for actions in support of specific projects. A general programme in the field of civil justice aimed at better mutual understanding of the legal and judicial systems of the Member States will contribute to lowering the barriers to judicial cooperation in civil matters, which will improve the functioning of the internal market. According to the Hague Programme, strengthening mutual confidence requires an explicit effort to improve mutual understanding among judicial authorities and different legal systems. European networks of national public authorities should be given special attention and support in this respect. C 53, 3.3.2005, p. 1. C 198, 12.8.2005, p. 1.