
Article 1 

1. The Member States shall give the Commission and the other Member States in good time, and at the latest at the moment they are made public, advance information of:
— draft measures which they intend to take with regard to third country workers and members of their families, in the areas of entry, residence and employment, including illegal entry, residence and employment, as well as the realization of equality of treatment in living and working conditions, wages and economic rights, the promotion of integration into the workforce and society, and the voluntary return of such persons to their countries of origin,
— draft agreements relating to the abovementioned matters, as well as draft cooperation agreements which they intend to negotiate or renegotiate with third countries, when these agreements involve provisions relating to the abovementioned matters,
— draft agreements relating to conditions of residence and employement of their nationals working in third countries and members of their families, which they intend to negotiate or renegotiate with those countries.
2. Member States shall communicate to the Commission and to the other Member States, in the areas mentioned in paragraph 1, the texts of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action already in force, and also the texts of agreements made with third countries.
Article 2 

1. If, within the space of two weeks from the date of receipt of the documents mentioned in Article 1, a Member State so requests, or if the Commission so decides on its own initiative, the Commission shall proceed with the consultation with the Member States on those documents within six weeks of their receipt.The Commission shall proceed with this consultation immediately, if a Member State requests it to do so as a matter of urgency.
2. The Commission may at any time, at the request of a Member State or on its own initiative, arrange a consultation on the draft provisions and agreements referred to in Article 1, except in the case of questions upon which consultation has already taken place and concerning which no new developments have arisen.
Article 3 
The objectives of the consultation procedure provided for in Article 2 (1) shall be, inter alia:

((a)) to facilitate the mutual exchange of information and the identification of problems of common interest and, in relation to those problems, to facilitate the adoption of a common policy by the Member States particularly as regards international instruments relating to migration;
((b)) to examine the possibility of measures, which might be taken by the Community or Member States in the fields referred to in Article 1, aimed at achieving progress towards the harmonization of national legislation on foreigners, promoting the inclusion of a maximum of common provisions in bilateral agreements, and improving the protection of Community nationals working and living in third countries.
Article 4 

1. Consultation shall be arranged by the Commission. Meetings shall be chaired by the Commission, which shall also provide the Secretariat.
2. The consultation procedure established by this Decision shall not affect the responsibilities of committees already in existence, in particular those of the Advisory and Technical Committee, as determined by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68.
3. Member States shall take all necessary steps to ensure the proper functioning of the consultation procedure, and in particular, where necessary, to safeguard the confidential nature of the information which will be made available to them in that connection.
Article 5 
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 8 June 1988.
For the Commission
Manuel MARÍN
Vice-President