Common position

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Until the Treaty of Lisbon, three different forms of action by the European Union were designated as the common position .

Codecision procedure

In the co-decision procedure , one of the legislative procedures within the framework of the 1st pillar of the European Union , a common position was the position of the Council of the European Union on the legislative project. With the Treaty of Lisbon , the codecision procedure was renamed the ordinary legislative procedure . The term common position has been replaced by the term position of the Council and thus contrasted with the position of the European Parliament .

Common foreign and security policy

In the common foreign and security policy , the Council of the European Union determines the position of the European Union on a specific geographic or thematic issue by resolution in accordance with Article 29 of the EU Treaty . A so-called common position was adopted on this before the Lisbon Treaty ; this was not a decision, but a special legal act under Article 15 of the EU Treaty (as amended by the Treaty of Amsterdam )

The decision (like the previous common positions ) will be adopted by the Council on the basis of overarching guidelines and strategies defined by the European Council . The member states not only have to ensure that their national policies are in line with the positions of the Union ( Art. 29 sentence 2 EU Treaty ), but they also have to advocate the positions of the Union in international organizations and at international conferences . ( Art. 34 Para. 1 EU Treaty).

The suspension, restriction or complete cessation of economic relations (restrictive measures) with one or more third countries can be decided in accordance with Art. 215 TFEU . However, such a decision may only be adopted after a corresponding decision has been adopted on the basis of Title V Chapter 2 of the EU Treaty (before the Lisbon Treaty, a common position or joint action was necessary for this, see Art. 301 EC Treaty ) .

An example of a common position would be Common Position 2006/30 / CFSP of 23 January 2006 on restrictive measures against Ivory Coast .

Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters

In the police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (3rd pillar), however, the common position represented the top of the hierarchy of measures according to Art. 34 Para. 2 lit.a TEU . It determined the procedure of the Union in a certain question of the PJZS and thus forms the basis for the resolutions and framework resolutions below .

The pillar structure was abandoned by the Treaty of Lisbon . This means that the general regulations on EU law-making also apply to police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters . As a result, the common positions described above no longer exist.

One example is the common position of March 29, 1999 on the proposed United Nations Convention against Organized Crime (1999/235 / JHA) .