Declarations
Wordings that are attached to a Treaty but that are not themselves legally binding. They may help with the interpretation of legally binding articles.Notes
- When all Member States agree, declarations are a "common political position".
- Declarations made by just one Member State (unilateral declarations) will normally highlight areas of disagreement (i.e. other Member States refused to agree). If the other countries had agreed to a unilateral declaration it would have become a common declaration.
- Protocols are legally binding additions to Treaty articles.
- Opt-out declarations (derogations) are always interpreted in a narrow way.
