EUROPEAN UNION Interinstitutional y style guide 2011 Brussels x Luxembourg, 2011 This publication was produced by downloading files from the Interinstitutional style guide website in 2011. As the website is updated continuously it is recommended that, when using this paper edition, you check online for any modifications, notably by consulting the ‘News’ page: http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-000300.htm Europe Direct is a service to help you find answers to your questions about the European Union. Freephone number (*): 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (*) Certain mobile telephone operators do not allow access to 00 800 numbers or these calls may be billed. More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu). Cataloguing data can be found at the end of this publication. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2011 ISBN 978-92-78-40701-8 doi:10.2830/36616 © European Union, 2011 Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. Printed in Belgium PRINTED ON ELEMENTAL CHLORINE-FREE BLEACHED PAPER (ECF) Foreword Since its first publication in 1993, as the Vade-mecum for editors, the Interinstitutional style guide has become an indispensable tool for authors of texts from the different institutions and bodies of the European Union, in all the official languages. This standardisation of linguistic practices is particularly remarkable, since all the conventions and common working practices contained in this work have been elaborated by our specialists while according the greatest respect to each language’s particularities. Equally accessible on the Internet, the Interinstitutional style guide allows for interactive dialogue between different actors, be they authors, editors, lawyer-linguists, terminologists, translators or proofreaders. The contribution that they can make to improve and update this work is now most welcome. I count on everyone’s commitment in assuring the application of the norms established in this way. This will allow us, among other things, to continue to exploit the potentials of computer tools, in order to serve better the European citizen, the main recipient of the texts produced by our institutions and bodies. Pierre de BOISSIEU Chairman of the Steering Committee of the Publications Office NB: The text of this foreword was originally published in French. 1 Preface One of the European Union’s priorities and vital tasks is to disseminate information in all languages. People are not generally aware of the scale and complexity of this task, and the ever-increasing amount and multilingual character of the documentation to be distributed, and it is only through continual development of the techniques used and constant rationalisation that the task can be accomplished each day. The Interinstitutional style guide has been produced with these things in mind. This publication, continuing a process begun in 1993 with the Vade-mecum for editors, is the fruit of a long round of negotiations in which all the European Union institutions participate actively. Bringing about a process of linguistic standardisation with such a large number of languages appeared unachievable. Nevertheless, the outcome of this exceptional work is proving successful, since the 23 linguistic versions are available on the Office’s style guide website (http://publications.europa.eu/code/). Twenty-three language communities have established a common working environment in order to present a consistent identity of the European Union institutions to citizens. This publication demonstrates that multilingualism need not be a source of disparity as it provides a common point of reference for the different language groups, as well as the institutions, bodies and agencies, which have multiplied over recent years. It draws together linguistic resources, turning apparent disparity into a source of unity between all those involved in producing texts for the European Union. The conclusions of the Interinstitutional Style Guide Committee should be implemented in all the institutions and the Publications Office should oversee this. Respecting the conventions set out in the style guide guarantees the image of a Europe dedicated to serving its citizens: providing a service in each of their languages while overseeing the harmony and unity of the message. Martine REICHERTS Director-General, Publications Office NB: The text of this preface was originally published in French. 3 References Legal basis Decision 69/13/Euratom, ECSC, EEC of 16 January 1969 establishing the Office for Official Publications of the European Communities (OJ L 13, 18.1.1969), repealed and last replaced by Decision 2009/496/EC, Euratom of the European Parliament, the Council, the Commission, the Court of Justice, the Court of Auditors, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions of 26 June 2009 on the organisation and operation of the Publications Office of the European Union (OJ L 168, 30.6.2009, p. 41): ‘Article 1 The task of the Publications Office of the European Union, which is an interinstitutional office, shall be to publish the publications of the institutions of the European Communities and the European Union under optimum conditions.’ * The Consultative Committee on Publications of the Commission has defined a publication as ‘a duplicated text, intended mainly for external use, the production of which constitutes a budgetary expense’. The Publications Office is required, among other tasks: (i) to standardise formats; (ii) to harmonise the presentation of publications. NB: According the the abovementioned decision, the name ‘Office for Official Publications of the European Communities’ has been changed to ‘Publications Office of the European Union’, with effect from 1 July 2009. Mandate The style guide is governed by the following entities: — the Interinstitutional Committee, designated by the Board, comprising general representatives from the following institutions: European Parliament, Council of the European Union, European Commission, Court of Justice of the European Union, European Court of Auditors, European Economic and Social Committee, Committee of the Regions of the European Union, European Central Bank; — the general coordination section for the style guide, based at the Publications Office; — the interinstitutional linguistic groups (one per language), whose representatives are appointed by members of the Interinstitutional Committee. The role of the Interinstitutional Committee is, primarily, to appoint official representatives to participate directly in the work of the linguistic groups. The committee can act as an arbitrator in the case of a major problem. The general coordination section is responsible for the overall management procedure: organising the work, ensuring the coherence of decisions taken in the different groups, updating and developing the process. This section is also responsible for overall management of the style guide website and participates directly in its development. 5 References The linguistic groups are responsible for the development and follow-up of their respective language versions, with guidance from the general coordination section. The Publications Office representatives in the groups coordinate the work and relay information back to the general coordination section. The groups comprise representatives from the various linguistic entities of the institutions: lawyer-linguists, translators, terminologists, proofreaders, etc. Furthermore, various decision-making bodies, notably, in the Commission, the Secretariat- General, the protocol service and the services in charge of external relations, are consulted regularly according to the subject being dealt with. Close contact is also maintained with various international organisations, particularly with regard to standardisation (ISO). 6 Contents Foreword 1 Preface 3 References (legal basis and mandate) 5 Introduction 11 Part One — Official Journal 13 Preamble 15 1.Structure of the Official Journal 21 1.1. General structure 21 1.2. L series 23 1.2.1. Classification of acts 23 1.2.2. Numbering of acts 24 1.2.3. Contents 26 1.3. C series 32 1.3.1. Classification of documents 32 1.3.2. Numbering of documents 33 1.3.3. Contents 34 2. Structure of a legal act 37 2.1. Title 37 2.2. Citations and recitals (preamble) 38 2.3. Articles (enacting terms) 40 2.4. Compulsory character of regulations (concluding formula) 41 2.5. Concluding formulas (place, date and signature) 41 2.6. Annexes 43 2.7. Subdivisions of acts 44 3. Rules on drafting documents 45 3.1. References to the Official Journal 45 3.2. Titles and references to an act 46 3.2.1. Titles 46 3.2.2. Referring to other acts 47 3.2.3. References to subdivisions of an act 51 3.2.4. References to amendments to an act 51 3.3. Amending articles 52 3.4. Order of citation 54 3.4.1. Order of the Treaties 54 3.4.2. Order of publication 55 3.4.3. Countries 55 3.4.4. Languages and multilingual texts 56 3.4.5. Currencies 56 3.5. Lists 56 3.5.1. Listed points — punctuation 56 3.5.2. Listing of acts 57 7 Contents 3.6. Definition of an expression or a word 57 3.7. Agreements and protocols 57 Summary tables 58 Part Two — General publications 65 4. Document preparation and identifiers 67 4.1. Authors, authorising departments, Publications Office and printshops 67 4.1.1. Authors and the Publications Office 67 4.1.2. Project management at the Publications Office 68 4.1.3. Proofreading at the Publications Office 68 4.2. Original documents (manuscripts) 70 4.2.1. Principle of a production chain 70 4.2.2. Logical structure of documents 71 4.2.3. Text preparation 72 4.2.4. Camera-ready documents 74 4.3. Publication types 75 4.3.1. Monographs 75 4.3.2. Continuing resources 75 4.3.3. Combined serial publications and monographs 76 4.4. Identifiers 76 4.4.1. International standard book number (ISBN) 76 4.4.2. International standard serial number (ISSN) 78 4.4.3. Digital object identifier (DOI) 80 4.4.4. Catalogue number 80 5.