Article III-395 (#)

1. Where, pursuant to the Constitution, the Council acts on a proposal from the Commission,
it may amend that proposal only by acting unanimously, except in the cases referred to in Articles
I-55, I-56, III-396(10) and (13), III-404 and III-405(2).
2. As long as the Council has not acted, the Commission may alter its proposal at any time during
the procedures leading to the adoption of a Union act.

Article III-396 (#)

1. Where, pursuant to the Constitution, European laws or framework laws are adopted under the
ordinary legislative procedure, the following provisions shall apply.
2. The Commission shall submit a proposal to the European Parliament and the Council.
First reading
3. The European Parliament shall adopt its position at first reading and communicate it to the
Council.
4. If the Council approves the European Parliament's position, the act concerned shall be adopted in
the wording which corresponds to the position of the European Parliament.
5. If the Council does not approve the European Parliament's position, it shall adopt its position at
first reading and communicate it to the European Parliament.
6. The Council shall inform the European Parliament fully of the reasons which led it to adopt its
position at first reading. The Commission shall inform the European Parliament fully of its position.

Second reading
7. If, within three months of such communication, the European Parliament:
(a) approves the Council's position at first reading or has not taken a decision, the act concerned
shall be deemed to have been adopted in the wording which corresponds to the position of the
Council;
(b) rejects, by a majority of its component members, the Council's position at first reading, the
proposed act shall be deemed not to have been adopted;
(c) proposes, by a majority of its component members, amendments to the Council's position at first
reading, the text thus amended shall be forwarded to the Council and to the Commission, which
shall deliver an opinion on those amendments.
8. If, within three months of receiving the European Parliament's amendments, the Council, acting
by a qualified majority:
(a) approves all those amendments, the act in question shall be deemed to have been adopted;
(b) does not approve all the amendments, the President of the Council, in agreement with the
President of the European Parliament, shall within six weeks convene a meeting of the
Conciliation Committee.
9. The Council shall act unanimously on the amendments on which the Commission has delivered
a negative opinion.
Conciliation
10. The Conciliation Committee, which shall be composed of the members of the Council or their
representatives and an equal number of members representing the European Parliament, shall have
the task of reaching agreement on a joint text, by a qualified majority of the members of the Council
or their representatives and by a majority of the members representing the European Parliament
within six weeks of its being convened, on the basis of the positions of the European Parliament and
the Council at second reading.
11. The Commission shall take part in the Conciliation Committee's proceedings and shall take all
necessary initiatives with a view to reconciling the positions of the European Parliament and the
Council.
12. If, within six weeks of its being convened, the Conciliation Committee does not approve the
joint text, the proposed act shall be deemed not to have been adopted.
Third reading
13. If, within that period, the Conciliation Committee approves a joint text, the European
Parliament, acting by a majority of the votes cast, and the Council, acting by a qualified majority, shall
each have a period of six weeks from that approval in which to adopt the act in question in
accordance with the joint text. If they fail to do so, the proposed act shall be deemed not to have been
adopted.
14. The periods of three months and six weeks referred to in this Article shall be extended by a
maximum of one month and two weeks respectively at the initiative of the European Parliament or
the Council.

Special provisions
15. Where, in the cases provided for in the Constitution, a law or framework law is submitted to the
ordinary legislative procedure on the initiative of a group of Member States, on a recommendation by
the European Central Bank, or at the request of the Court of Justice, paragraph 2, the second sentence
of paragraph 6, and paragraph 9 shall not apply.
In such cases, the European Parliament and the Council shall communicate the proposed act to the
Commission with their positions at first and second readings. The European Parliament or the
Council may request the opinion of the Commission throughout the procedure, which the
Commission may also deliver on its own initiative. It may also, if it deems it necessary, take part in
the Conciliation Committee in accordance with paragraph 11.

Article III-397 (#)

The European Parliament, the Council and the Commission shall consult each other and by common
agreement make arrangements for their cooperation. To that end, they may, in compliance with the
Constitution, conclude interinstitutional agreements which may be of a binding nature.

Article III-398 (#)

1. In carrying out their missions, the institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall
have the support of an open, efficient and independent European administration.
2. In compliance with the Staff Regulations and the Conditions of employment adopted on the
basis of Article III-427, European laws shall establish provisions to that end.

Article III-399 (#)

1. The institutions, bodies, offices and agencies of the Union shall ensure transparency in their
work and shall, pursuant to Article I-50, determine in their rules of procedure specific provisions for
public access to their documents. The Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central
Bank and the European Investment Bank shall be subject to the provisions of Article I-50(3) and to
this Article only when exercising their administrative tasks.
2. The European Parliament and the Council shall ensure publication of the documents relating to
the legislative procedures under the terms laid down by the European law referred to in Article
I-50(3).

Article III-400 (#)

1. The Council shall adopt European regulations and decisions determining:
(a) the salaries, allowances and pensions of the President of the European Council, the President of
the Commission, the Union Minister for Foreign Affairs, the members of the Commission, the
Presidents, members and Registrars of the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the
Secretary-General of the Council;

(b) the conditions of employment, in particular the salaries, allowances and pensions, of the
President and members of the Court of Auditors;
(c) any payment to be made instead of remuneration to the persons referred to in points (a) and (b).
2. The Council shall adopt European regulations and decisions determining the allowances of the
members of the Economic and Social Committee.

Article III-401 (#)

Acts of the Council, of the Commission or of the European Central Bank which impose a pecuniary
obligation on persons other than Member States shall be enforceable.
Enforcement shall be governed by the rules of civil procedure in force in the Member State in the
territory of which it is carried out. The order for its enforcement shall be appended to the decision,
without other formality than verification of the authenticity of the decision, by the national authority
which the government of each Member State shall designate for this purpose and shall make known
to the Commission and the Court of Justice of the European Union.
When these formalities have been completed on application by the party concerned, the latter may
proceed to enforcement by bringing the matter directly before the competent authority, in
accordance with the national law.
Enforcement may be suspended only by a decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
However, the courts of the country concerned shall have jurisdiction over complaints that
enforcement is being carried out in an irregular manner.