Official Journal: MEPs agree with new rules on electronic publication

New technological means of authentication

Authentication of electronic versions after IT system disruptions

New rules make the need for authenticity, integrity and inalterability of the Official Journal easier to achieve.

MEPs of the Legal Affairs Committee approved new rules on electronic publication of the EU Official Journal unanimously with 19 votes in favour.

The Official Journal of the European Union is the official publication for EU legal acts. The new rules simplify publication of the Official Journal as well as public access to it. The more generic formulation allows for the authentication of the Journal by new technological means without the necessity of additional amendments. The new provision make sure that the need to remove certain information from the Journal remains compatible with the principle of inalterability.

According to the Regulation, only the Official Journal published in electronic form is

authentic and produces legal effects. In order to cover situations when the Official Journal was published in the authentic printed edition because of the disruption of the information system, the new rules make electronic versions published after such disruptions also authentic. This extends to the three issues of the Official Journal that have been published in the authentic printed edition previously to ensure legal certainty.

Next steps

European Parliament consent with the file will now have to be confirmed at the plenary level