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)
L 196/24 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 14. 7. 98 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) THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 100a thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission (1), Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee (2), Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 189b of the Treaty (3), for (1) Whereas Declaration No 19 on the implementa- tion of Community law annexed to the Final Act of the Treaty on European Union stresses that it is essential the taken by the Community that different Member in result States Community law being applied with the same ef- fectiveness and rigour as in the application of their national law; functioning of the measures the proper should (2) Whereas the completion of the internal market has required a considerable legislative effort involving, inter alia, the approximation of national laws with a view to creating an area without internal frontiers; (3) Whereas the effective and uniform application of the Community rules in question represents a new priority which is essential to the smooth func- tioning of the internal market; (4) Whereas those Community rules on the freedoms of the internal market which have direct effect may be invoked before any national court in accordance with procedures defined by national law; whereas citizens, consumers and undertakings must be able to rely on the application of those rules and to benefit from the rights and guarantees which they confer in the Member States as a whole; whereas legal certainty and the credibility of the internal market are at stake as is, more generally, con- fidence in the whole process of European integra- tion; (1) OJ C 378, 13. 12. 1996, p. 17, and OJ C 368, 5. 12. 1997, p. 6. (2) OJ C 206, 7. 7. 1997, p. 63. (3) Opinion of the European Parliament of 24 October 1997 (OJ C 339, 10. 11. 1997, p. 410), Council Common Position of 9 March 1998 (OJ C 135, 30. 4. 1998, p. 25) and Decision of the European Parliament of 30 April 1998 (OJ C 152, 18. 5. 1998). Council Decision of 18 May 1998. (5) Whereas citizens, consumers and undertakings will be unable to assert all the Community legal order before any national court unless those members of the legal professions most directly involved in applying Community law, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers, are suffi- ciently informed and trained to do so; rights under their the smooth functioning of (6) Whereas the Commission communication to the Council of 22 December 1993 entitled ‘Making the most of the internal market: strategic programme' emphasises the importance, for individuals as well the internal as for market, of national courts being in a position to resolve a larger proportion of cases concerning the conformity of rules or conduct with Community law and, to that end, the need to improve know- ledge of Community law within the legal profes- sions; 12th Annual Report (7) Whereas in its resolution of 13 February 1996 on the Commission’s on monitoring the application of Community law (4) the European Parliament asked the Commission to the purpose of put training and informing the legal professions in the field of Community law with a view to making the application of Community law by national courts more uniform and effective; forward a programme for (8) Whereas raising awareness of Community law among members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice in the Member States is likely to improve cooperation between national courts and the Court of Justice of the European Communities which is an inherent part of the Community legal order; (9) Whereas, in accordance with the principle of subsi- diarity and by virtue of Article 127 of the Treaty, it is not for the European Community to assume the role of the Member States in determining the organisation or content of training for members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers; (4) OJ C 65, 4. 3. 1996, p. 37. 14. 7. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 196/25 (10) Whereas it is within the Community’s remit to propose the establishment of support arrangements designed to help Member States to remedy a lack of training and information wherever this may affect the correct application of Community law neces- sary for the smooth functioning of the internal market; (11) Whereas the objective of making members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers, more aware of Community law must form part of overall arrangements which, from checks on the correct legislation of Community law to the penalties applicable in the event of that law being breached, are designed to ensure the effective and uniform application of the rules governing the internal market; transposition into national (12) Whereas achieving this objective entails using specific resources adapted to the requirements and constraints of professional practice; whereas the creation of a specific instrument the objective of which is to improve knowledge of Community law on the part of members of legal professions involved in the administration of justice in the Member States, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers, Community programmes and initiatives as far as the particular target group is concerned, complements existing secutors and lawyers or those preparing to take part in the administration of justice; (b) encourage the development, in the Member States, of information resources (traditional or based on new in communication and information technology) Community law for members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers; (c) support initiatives likely to facilitate implementation of the above two forms of support, complement them or enhance their impact. training The Robert Schuman project support and 2. complement on and Community law undertaken by the Member States, while not encroaching on their responsibility for defining course content and organising vocational training. information work shall Article 3 Instrument of Community intervention 1. The Robert Schuman project shall be designed to provide financial support to initiatives launched in the Member States with a view to achieving the objectives referred to in Article 2. Each of those objectives 2. shall correspond to a specific aspect of the Robert Schuman project: ‘training', ‘information' or ‘accompanying initiatives'. HAVE DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: Article 1 Establishment of the Robert Schuman project 1. This Decision establishes the programme known as the ‘Robert Schuman project' for a period of three years. 2. By means of this financial support instrument, the Community intends to encourage and support initiatives designed to raise awareness of Community law among members of the legal professions involved in the adminis- tration of justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers within the Member States. Article 2 Objectives The Robert Schuman project 1. purpose to: shall have as its (a) encourage the launch of training initiatives of a prac- tical nature in Community law in the Member States (initial or continuing training) by bodies responsible for training members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, namely judges, pro- Article 4 Financial provisions The financial framework for the implementation of this programme for a period of three years commencing on the date of entry into force of this Decision is hereby set at ECU 5,6 million. The annual appropriations shall be authorised by the budgetary authority within the limits of the financial perspective. Article 5 Eligibility conditions 1. Institutions responsible in the Member States at local, regional or national level or at Community level for: ü the continuing vocational training of members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers, or ü the initial vocational training of those preparing to take part in the administration of justice, shall be considered eligible for financial support under the Robert Schuman project. L 196/26 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 14. 7. 98 2. The institutions covered by paragraph 1 shall be: (a) the courts; (b) bar associations and equivalent professional bodies; (c) Ministries of Justice, high councils of the judiciary or similar bodies and bodies responsible at a high level for the training of the judiciary and judicial officers; (d) approved vocational schools or educational institutes responsible for the initial or continuing training of members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers; (e) the universities. Article 6 Project selection criteria Eligible institutions shall apply for support under the in- to the competent 1. Robert Schuman project by submitting a training, formation or accompanying project Commission departments. may be improved by partnerships involving a number of eligible institutions pooling their resources. The following optional assessment criteria shall also 3. be taken into account: (a) the inter-professional dimension of measures (involve- ment of judges, prosecutors and lawyers in imple- menting them or as target groups); (b) the cross-border dimension of measures (involvement of nationals of more than one Member State in imple- menting them or as target groups). Article 7 Support arrangements Financial support under 1. the Robert Schuman project, which is designed to encourage, complement and support the work of the institutions referred to in Article 5, shall be provided in addition to local, regional or national funds and shall be used to achieve projects. Financial support thus awarded may not, therefore, entail the realisation of direct or indirect profits. Projects shall be selected, and financial support 2. awarded, on the basis of the following criteria: Financial support under the Robert Schuman project 2. shall be awarded for one or two years. (a) Practical use The measures envisaged must enable the target groups to acquire knowledge adapted to, and immediately useful in, the day-to-day practice of their profession. (b) Accessibility The measures envisaged must be designed to raise awareness among the greatest possible number of members of the legal professions involved in the administration of justice, namely judges, prosecutors and lawyers, and shall, in particular, benefit those who have not yet become acquainted with Community law. (c) Adjustment to constraints of professional practice The way in which the measures envisaged are imple- mented must reflect the needs of professional practice (particularly in terms of timetabling and geographical proximity). (d) Cost-effectiveness 3. So as to ensure continuity in the projects, the re- cipient of a Robert Schuman project grant shall undertake to continue the project without from the Commission, as from the date on which the grant ceases for a period equivalent to that for which the grant was made. support Recipients shall undertake to repay all amounts disbursed if they fail to meet that obligation. a derogation from the obligation to Exceptionally, continue the work may be granted if the nature of a project prevents its continuation or if the recipient is confronted by circumstances, notably of an internal regu- latory or financial nature, which prevent the project from being continued. Financial 4. the Robert support provided under Schuman project shall be awarded in accordance with the Commission’s rules governing grants. Compliance with those rules shall be monitored by the Commission and the Court of Auditors of the European Communities. When assessing projects submitted under the Robert Schuman project, the Commission shall work on the basis of the principles laid down by the relevant finan- cial Regulations, in particular the principles of sound financial management, cost- effectiveness. economy and Costs entailed by the measures envisaged shall be reason- able having regard to their objectives. Cost-effectiveness Article 8 Implementation 1. The Commission shall be responsible for carrying out this programme and shall adopt practical arrange- ments for its implementation. 14. 7. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 196/27 in the Official Journal of 2. A call for expressions of interest shall be published each year the European Communities to inform potential applicants of the Robert Schuman project’s conditions objectives governing the award of grants. and the Article 9 Consistency of Community action The Commission shall be responsible, 1. jointly with the Member States, for ensuring the overall consistency of this programme and other Community training or in- formation initiatives. The Robert Schuman project 2. shall complement action carried out under other Community programmes, in particular the Leonardo da Vinci programme for the implementation of a European Community vocational training policy, to promote teaching on European integration at university level and the Grotius programme of incentives and exchanges for legal practitioners (joint action adopted on the basis of Article K. 3 of the Treaty on European Union). the Jean Monnet project Article 10 Assessment and monitoring 1. The Commission shall be responsible for assessing and monitoring this programme on a periodic basis and shall keep the Member States regularly informed. 2. The Commission shall submit an assessment report on implementation of the programme to the European the Economic and Social Parliament, Committee and the Committee of the Regions no later than two years after the programme enters into force. the Council, Article 11 Entry into force This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. Done at Luxembourg, 22 June 1998. For the European Parliament For the Council The President J. M. GIL-ROBLES The President J. CUNNINGHAM