Council Decision
of 22 March 2004
adopting the Council's Rules of Procedure
(2004/338/EC, Euratom)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 207(3), first subparagraph, thereof,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 121(3) thereof,
Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 28(1) and Article 41(1) thereof,
Whereas:
(1) According to Article 4 of the Treaty on European Union ‘the European Council shall provide the Union with the necessary impetus for its development and shall define the general political guidelines thereof’.
(2) In order fully to perform that function of providing impetus and defining the Union's general political guidelines the European Council agreed, at its meeting on 21 and 22 June 2002 in Seville, on a certain number of rules for the preparation, conduct and conclusion of its proceedings. In the cause of transparency and efficiency explicit mention should be made in the Council's Rules of Procedure of those organisational rules, which must be the subject of practical measures for the purpose of their implementation.
(3) It is important that the Council should follow rules on the organisation of its work which will allow it to make better use of the necessarily limited time available. To that end, on 18 March 2003 the Council adopted a code of conduct intended to improve the efficiency of the preparation and conduct of meetings of the Council and its preparatory bodies. That code of conduct should be incorporated in the Rules of Procedure in order to make it legally binding,
HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: