8.1. Footnote references

References to footnotes can appear as figures, asterisks and letters, and are identical in all language versions.

References to footnotes appear in an identical way in all the language versions; they can take the following forms.

• Figure in superscript between brackets with same value as the text, preceded by a thin space and followed by any punctuation:

  References to the Commission Regulation(¹) also appear in the Council communication(²); but not in text of the Court of Justice(³).

  For full details, see the external contractor’s study (‘the study’)(¹).

  In the public consultation, many stakeholders described the approach as ‘excessively complex’(²).

• Asterisk in superscript between brackets with same value as text, preceded by a thin space and followed by any punctuation; this sign is employed for a note that, in a given work or periodical, appears more than once and that always has the same meaning.

  All figures from Eurostat(*).

• Exceptionally, a lower-case superscript letter may be used in tables with figures in very small print so as to avoid errors and confusion.

Footnotes are generally numbered by page and placed at the foot of the corresponding page in smaller characters than the body of the text (generally by two points) separated from the text by a short rule and line space. They may also be numbered continuously or grouped at the end of the chapter or volume.

In the Official Journal, the footnotes are numbered continuously, and are numbered separately in the act or the main body of a document and in the individual annexes.

The reference to a footnote (including the brackets) is always composed in light roman (even in texts or headings written in italics or bold).

When a reference to a footnote appears in a table the note must form part of the table and consequently appear within the frame of the table.