Commission Decision of 1 February 2005 amending Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom (2005/78/EC, Euratom)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 218(2) thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, and in particular Article 131 thereof,

Having regard to the Treaty on European Union, and in particular Article 28(1) and Article 41(1) thereof,

Whereas:

1. The Commission’s security system is based on the principles set out in Council Decision 2001/264/EC of 19 March 2001 adopting the Council’s security regulations⁽¹⁾ with a view to ensuring a smooth functioning of the decision-making process of the Union.

2. The Commission’s provisions on security are contained in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom of 29 November 2001 amending its internal Rules of Procedure⁽²⁾.

3. Appendix 1 to the Rules on security annexed to those provisions contains a table of equivalence including national security classifications.

4. On 16 April 2003, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia signed the Treaty concerning their accession to the European Union⁽³⁾. Appendix 1 to the Rules on security should be amended in order to take account of those States.

5. On 14 March 2003 the European Union signed an agreement⁽⁴⁾ with NATO on the security of information. It is therefore also necessary to establish correspondence with NATO classification levels in Appendix 1 to the Rules on security.

6. France and the Netherlands have changed their legislation on classification.

7. In the interests of clarity, Appendix 1 to the Rules on security should be replaced.

8. At the same time, the Annex to Decision 2001/844/EC, ECSC, Euratom should be corrected in order to ensure that the four classification terms are used homogeneously in all language versions,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: