59 Announcements by the Commission

The European Commission's ‘Action Plan on A More Coherent European Contract Law’ of January 200333. called for comments on three proposed measures: increasing the coherence of theacquis communautaire, the promotion of the elaboration of EU-wide standard contract terms,34. and further examination of whether there is a need for a measure that is not limited to particular sectors, such as an ‘optional instrument.’ Its principal proposal for improvement was to develop a Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which could then be used by the Commission in reviewing the existingacquis and drafting new legislation.35. In October 2004 the Commission published a further paper, ‘European Contract Law and the revision of the acquis: the way forward’.36. This proposed that the CFR should provide ‘fundamental principles, definitions and model rules’ which could assist in the improvement of the existingacquis communautaire, and which might form the basis of an optional instrument if it were decided to create one. Model rules would form the bulk of the CFR,37. its main purpose being to serve as a kind of legislators' guide or ‘tool box’. This DCFR responds to these announcements by the Commission and contains proposals for the principles, definitions and model rules mentioned in them.