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What is a common position?

A ‘common position’ is one of the types of legal act used in the area of foreign and security policy and in connection with police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters between the EU Member States.

Moreover, the Council may adopt common positions as part of the EU’s decision-making procedures.

The rules which were to be applied, pursuant to the Maastricht Treaty, to cooperation within the third pillar of justice and home affairs originally corresponded, by and large, to the rules in the area of foreign and security policy but, with the advent of the Treaty of Amsterdam, visas, asylum, immigration and other policies linked to the free movement of persons were moved from the third pillar to supranational cooperation in the first pillar. At the same time, a change was made to the rules concerning the area which remained in the third pillar, i.e. police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters. 

Article 34 TEU lists four types of legal acts which are used in connection with police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters between the EU Member States.

Legal acts in the area of foreign and security policy (Article 12 TEU)

 Principles and general guidelines

- are political acts adopted by the European Council.

Common strategies
- set out the EU’s targets, time-scales and instruments in areas of common interest to the Member States. Common strategies may concern either geographical subjects or a specific topic. The common strategies are drawn up by the Council and subsequently adopted unanimously by the European Council. The common strategies have the character of legal acts in that they allow the Council to adopt, by qualified majority, implementing acts in the form of joint actions and common positions.

Joint actions
 - are used in concrete situations where it is necessary for the EU to make decisions on action and realisation of operations. Joint actions lay down the conditions for implementation of the operations and are binding for the Member States. They constitute the most important instrument within the CFSP.

Common positions
- lay down the EU’s approach to specific issues of a geographical character or concerning specific subjects. Member States must adapt their national policies and their diplomatic representation to the common positions. For example, EU sanctions against third countries are implemented by means of adopting a common position.

Strengthening systematic cooperation between Member States in the conduct of policy
is a type of action without a specific form, but the Member States must familiarise themselves with the subject and consult with each other on all issues relating to foreign and security policy in order to ensure that the EU countries have a coherent policy in the area.

Legal acts relating to police cooperation and judicial cooperation in criminal matters (Article 34 TEU)

Common positions
- lay down the EU’s position on a specific issue. Nothing is said about the binding effect of common positions.

Framework decisions
- are intended to help to harmonise the legislation of the Member States. Framework decisions are binding for the Member States with respect to the goal which is to be achieved, and are in this way similar to directives (see question 63), but with the fundamental difference that framework decisions are explicitly precluded from having direct effect.

Decisions
- are binding decisions which cannot, however, be used to help bring the legislation of the Member States closer together. Decisions are also precluded from having direct effect.

Conventions
- are legal acts which must be ratified by the Member States in accordance with their constitutional traditions (see question 13). In this way they are similar to the type of legal act used in traditional international cooperation. The Treaty of Amsterdam introduced a clause to the effect that Conventions may enter into force once they have been ratified by at least half of the Member States. The Convention then enters into force in the countries which have ratified it.


Sidst opdateret: 22-07-2008  - ANSJ