New Service Regulation Repealing Reg. 1348/2000 to Be Adopted by EP in Its Forthcoming Plenary Session

In its last meeting, on 4 October 2007, the EP’s JURI Committee adopted a Recommendation for Second Reading, calling on the European Parliament to approve the Council’s common position on a new service Regulation that should replace Reg. No. 1348/2000.

The codecision procedure leading to a new European instrument on service of documents started in July 2005, following the Report prepared in 2004 by the Commission and an external study on the application of Reg. 1348/2000. The procedure is summarized as follows by the EP Rapporteur Jean-Paul Gauzès in the Explanatory Statement accompanying the Recommendation for Second Reading (links added):

In July 2005, the Commission presented a draft European Parliament and Council regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000.

Following an agreement reached with the Council under the Austrian Presidency, Parliament adopted a certain number of amendments in July 2006, corresponding to the changes agreed with the Council, and officially invited the Commission to submit a codified version of Regulation No 1348/2000 in the form of an amended proposal.

In December 2006, the Commission submitted an amended proposal for a regulation embodying the amendments to Regulation No 1348/2000 adopted by the European Parliament and the Council, and repealing the aforesaid Regulation.

A likely modified version of this text was unanimously adopted at the Council meeting of 19 and 20 April 2007, which then drew up a joint position. The official adoption by the Council on 28 June 2007 was unanimous.

According to current forecasts, the EP’s vote on the Recommendation for Second Reading should take place in the plenary session of 24 October 2007 (see the EP OEIL page), ending the codecision procedure with the adoption of the act, in the text of the Council’s Common Position.

Further documentation on the service of documents in the EU is also available on the related page of the DG Freedom, Security and Justice.