The European Commission proposed on 4 April to grant legal status to the electronic edition of the Official Journal of the European Union. Until this moment, only the printed edition was legally valid, but with this proposal EU citizens and businesses across Europe will have more legal certainty and save time and money. The proposal follows a trend at national level where all EU countries have electronic official journals, more than half of which have full legal status.

The Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) was created in 1952 for the then European Coal and Steel Community. This publication represents the way for the European Union to keep its records, as only legal acts published in the Official Journal are binding. Before the Commission's proposal, and despite the fact that a majority of European citizens and businesses mainly consult the online version of the OJEU, only the paper version of the Official Journal was legally valid. This means that no decision taken by the Commission can be enforced based on the electronic version.

If citizens want to claim a right based on what is published in the Official Journal, such as Treaty or any other provision, they would need to obtain a copy of the print version which represents. For that reason, the European Commission has proposed to give legal status to the electronic edition of the Official Journal. This proposal therefore broadens access and ensures that citizens’ right to make themselves acquainted with EU law is enforced.

The proposal will not only benefit businesses and professionals in the field of law, but will also serve citizens who want to be informed from a reliable source about the rights they benefit from under EU law. As highlighted by EU Vice-President and Commissioner for Justice, Viviane Reding, it will also provides for simple, easy and reliable access to EU law online, making easier and less expensive for businesses and citizens to access EU law.

Currently, consultation of the paper version of the Official Journal costs about 1,000 euro a year per subscription. The Commission is proposing to give free and direct access to the legally valid Official Journal online, making everyone's lives a little easier. Legal acts passed by the EU will be instantly accessible to all. At the same time, electronic publication will ease the search of data, by minimising the time and effort citizens' need to put into searching for information.

Before, it takes effect, this Commission's proposal needs unanimous support from the Council and consent of the European Parliament before it takes effect.