Kuten MacLeod, Hendry ja Hyett(41) ovat perustellusti huomauttaneet, on kuitenkin niin, että EY:n perustamissopimuksen ilmaisussa ”kuullen erityiskomiteoita, joita neuvosto nimeää avustamaan komissiota [sen neuvottelutehtävässä]”, korostuu ”the pre-eminent role of the Commission in any negotiation: the committee does not give the Commission direct instructions, and the Treaty does not imply that the committee, or its representatives, may be present during the face to face negotiations, at least when the agreement relates only to matters within the competence of the Community under the Treaty.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that, as Messrs MacLeod, Hendry and Hyett (41) have rightly pointed out, the words of the EC Treaty ‘in consultation with special committees appointed by the Council to assist it in [its] task [as negotiator]’ underline ‘the pre-eminent role of the Commission in any negotiation: the committee does not give the Commission direct instructions, and the Treaty does not imply that the committee, or its representatives, may be present during the face to face negotiations, at least when the agreement relates only to matters within the competence of the Community under the Treaty.EurLex-2 EurLex-2