Undertakings which are of fundamental importance to the development of the nuclear industry in the Community may be established as Joint Undertakings within the meaning of this Treaty, in accordance with the following Articles.
1.Every project for establishing a Joint Undertaking, whether originating from the Commission, a Member State or any other quarter, shall be the subject of an inquiry by the Commission.
For this purpose, the Commission shall obtain the views of Member States and of any public or private body which in its opinion can usefully advise it.
2.The Commission shall forward to the Council any project for establishing a Joint Undertaking, together with its reasoned opinion.
If the Commission delivers a favourable opinion on the need for the proposed Joint Undertaking, it shall submit proposals to the Council concerning:
(a)location;
(b)statutes;
(c)the scale of and timetable for financing;
(d)possible participation by the Community in the financing of the Joint Undertaking;
(e)possible participation by a third State, an international organisation or a national of a third State in the financing or management of the Joint Undertaking;
(f)the conferring of any or all of the advantages listed in Annex III to this Treaty.
The Commission shall attach a detailed report on the project as a whole.
The Council may, when the matter has been submitted to it by the Commission, request the latter to supply such further information or to undertake such further inquiries as the Council may consider necessary.
If the Council, acting by a qualified majority, considers that a project forwarded by the Commission with an unfavourable opinion should nevertheless be carried out, the Commission shall submit to the Council the proposals and the detailed report referred to in Article 46.
Where the opinion of the Commission is favourable or in the case referred to in the preceding paragraph, the Council shall act by a qualified majority on each of the proposals from the Commission.
The Council shall, however, act unanimously in respect of:
participation by the Community in the financing of the Joint Undertaking;
participation by a third State, an international organisation or a national of a third State in the financing or management of the Joint Undertaking.
The Council may, acting unanimously on a proposal from the Commission, make applicable to each Joint Undertaking any or all of the advantages listed in Annex III to this Treaty; each Member State shall for its part ensure that these advantages are conferred.
The Council may, in accordance with the same procedure, lay down the conditions governing the conferment of these advantages.
Joint Undertakings shall be established by Council decision.
Each Joint Undertaking shall have legal personality.
In each of the Member States, it shall enjoy the most extensive legal capacity accorded to legal persons under their respective national laws; it may, in particular, acquire or dispose of movable and immovable property and may be a party to legal proceedings.
Save as otherwise provided in this Treaty or in its own statutes, each Joint Undertaking shall be governed by the rules applying to industrial or commercial undertakings; its statutes may make subsidiary reference to the national laws of the Member States.
Save where jurisdiction is conferred upon the Court of Justice of the European Union by this Treaty, disputes in which Joint Undertakings are concerned shall be determined by the appropriate national courts or tribunals.
The statutes of Joint Undertakings shall be amended, where necessary, in accordance with the special provisions which they contain for this purpose.
Such amendments shall not, however, enter into force until they have been approved by the Council, acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 47 on a proposal from the Commission.
The Commission shall be responsible for carrying out all decisions of the Council relating to the establishment of Joint Undertakings until the bodies responsible for the operation of such undertakings have been set up.