ACT
concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the
Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary,
the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic
and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded
PART ONE
PRINCIPLES
Article 1
For the purposes of this Act:
— the expression ‘original Treaties’ means:
(a) the Treaty establishing the European Community (‘EC
Treaty’) and the Treaty establishing the European
Atomic Energy Community (‘Euratom Treaty’), as
supplemented or amended by treaties or other acts
which entered into force before this accession,
(b) the Treaty on European Union (‘EU Treaty’), as supple-
mented or amended by treaties or other acts which
entered into force before this accession;
— the expression ‘present Member States’ means the Kingdom
of Belgium, the Kingdom of Denmark, the Federal Republic
of Germany, the Hellenic Republic, the Kingdom of Spain,
the French Republic, Ireland, the Italian Republic, the Grand
Duchy of Luxembourg, the Kingdom of the Netherlands,
the Republic of Austria, the Portuguese Republic, the
Republic of Finland, the Kingdom of Sweden and the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
— the expression ‘the Union’ means the European Union as
established by the EU Treaty;
— the expression ‘the Community’ means one or both of the
Communities referred to in the first indent, as the case may
be;
— the expression ‘new Member States’ means the Czech
Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus,
the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the
Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic
of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak
Republic;
— the expression ‘the institutions’ means the institutions estab-
lished by the original Treaties.
Article 2
From the date of accession, the provisions of the original
Treaties and the acts adopted by the institutions and the
European Central Bank before accession shall be binding on
the new Member States and shall apply in those States under
the conditions laid down in those Treaties and in this Act.
Article 3
1.
The provisions of the Schengen acquis as integrated into
the framework of the European Union by the Protocol annexed
to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty establishing
the European Community (hereinafter referred to as the
‘Schengen Protocol’), and the acts building upon it or
otherwise related to it, listed in Annex I to this Act, as well
as any further such acts which may be adopted before the date
of accession, shall be binding on and applicable in the new
Member States from the date of accession.
2.
Those provisions of the Schengen acquis as integrated
into the framework of the European Union and the acts
building upon it or otherwise related to it not referred to in
paragraph 1, while binding on the new Member States from
the date of accession, shall only apply in a new Member State
pursuant to a Council decision to that effect after verification
in accordance with the applicable Schengen evaluation
procedures that the necessary conditions for the application
of all parts of the acquis concerned have been met in that
new Member State and after consulting the European
Parliament.
The Council shall take its decision acting with the unanimity of
its members representing the Governments of the Member
States in respect of which the provisions referred to in the
present paragraph have already been put into effect and of
the representative of the Government of the Member State in
respect of which those provisions are to be put into effect. The
members of the Council representing the Governments of
Ireland and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Northern Ireland shall take part in such a decision insofar as
it relates to the provisions of the Schengen acquis and the acts
building upon it or otherwise related to it in which these
Member States participate.
3.
The Agreements concluded by the Council under Article
6 of the Schengen Protocol shall be binding on the new
Member States from the date of accession.
EN
23.9.2003
Official Journal of the European Union
33