Interinstitutional agreement (IIA) - Main contents

This particular type of agreement is used to establish institutional arrangements between the Council of Ministers, the European Parliament and the European Commission. The purpose of the agreement is to increase efficiency and to clarify procedures in order to prevent or limit conflicts amongst the institutions. Interinstitutional agreement can be legally binding, but this is not required.

Area of application

The interinstitutional agreement is used by the European institutions for the sole purpose to help shape their working relationship. Only administrative and institutional affairs concerning legal, procedural and financial aspects may be covered by an interinstitutional agreement.

Adopting interinstitutional agreements

Council, Parliament and Commission agree on interinstitutional agreements by mutual consent. The Commission is charged to take the initiative.

The interinstitutional agreement is based on the Treaty on European Union (TEU) and the Treaty of the functioning of the European Union (TfEU).

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  instrument: part six TfEU title I chapter 2 section 2 art. 295
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  initiative: TEU title III art. 17