Interinstitutional agreement on the official codification of Community legislation

Given the urgent need to simplify and consolidate Community legislation with a view to simplifying its application, the legal services of the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission had drawn up a draft interinstitutional agreement with a view to adopting an accelerated working method as regards the official codification of legislative texts. The draft agreement was formed of a section of provisions and three statements. The draft agreement was formed of a series of provisions and three statements and: - established an agreement on the interpretation of the concept of "official codification", - clarified that the key areas for codification would be indicated by the Commission in its work programme and should be approved by the three institutions, - stipulated that an advisory group made up of the three legal services would give its opinion on the appropriateness of the codification envisaged, - stated that Parliament and the Council agreed not to make any amendments to the substance of the proposal for codification, - established a rapid adoption procedure within Parliament and the Council, - stipulated that where it was necessary to make amendments to the substance, the Commission should put forward the corresponding proposals (e.g. partial codification or rewriting). �