Introductory text

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Whereas:

The Commission has approved the European Union Public Licence (EUPL) v.1.0 by Decision C(2006) 7108 on 9 January 2007.

By Decision C(2007) 6774 the EUPL v.1.0 was validated in all the official languages of the European Union.

By Decision C(2008) 8911, the Commission adopted a revised version of the Licence (EUPL v. 1.1) and validated it in all the official languages.

In order to further facilitate the sharing and reuse of software developed by public administrations concerning the use of an open source software licence, a new EUPL version, EUPL v. 1.2, should be adopted.

Some adjustments of wording and simplifications are necessary to align it with official denominations, to allow for a broader scope, to give parties certain flexibilities as regards the applicable law, and to clarify the jurisdiction of the Court of Justice in accordance with the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

The EUPL includes an appendix of ‘compatible licenses’ providing interoperability with a list of other ‘share alike’ licenses, which requires some updates to take into account newer relevant licenses.

An updated version of the EUPL, version 1.2, has consequently been established and in the interest of clarity and rationality its text should be presented in a consolidated form,

HAS DECIDED AS FOLLOWS: