(Codecision procedure: second reading)

The European Parliament,

-  having regard to the Council common position (14263/1/1999 - C5-0099/2000 ),

-  having regard to its position at first reading(1) on the Commission proposal to Parliament and the Council (COM(1998) 586 (2) - C4-0020/1999 ),

-  having regard to the Commission's amended proposal (COM(1999) 427 ),

-  having regard to Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty,

-  having regard to Rule 78 of its Rules of Procedure,

-  having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market (A5-0106/2000 ),

1.  Approves the common position;

2.  Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the common position;

3.  Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council pursuant to Article 254(1) of the EC Treaty;

4.  Instructs its Secretary-General duly to sign the act and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of the Council, to have it published in the Official Journal of the European Communities;

5.  Asks the Commission to ensure rapid and rigorous implementation of this Directive in the Member States and in particular, with respect to the liability of intermediary service providers, to encourage the establishment of efficient notice and take-down procedures by interested parties and to prevent any interpretation of Articles 12 to 15 which would call into question the balance achieved in those articles;

6.  Asks the Commission to present initiatives providing guidance for the elaboration of codes of conduct which will ensure in particular the participation, where appropriate, of associations of consumers and Internet users;

7.  Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

(1) OJ C 279, 1.10.1999, p. 389. (2) OJ C 30, 5.2.1999, p. 4.