EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union - Forms of legislative and other normative acts

7 important questions on EU DECISION-MAKING AND HIERARCHY OF NORMS - Legislating in the European Union - Forms of legislative and other normative acts

Which forms of legislative and other normative acts are there?

  • Regulations
  • directives
  • Rule-making decisions
  • International agreements
  • Interinstitutional agreements
  • Recommendations, opinions and other non-binding acts

What is a regulation?

These are binding in it's entirety and directly applicable to all Member States. They become a part of the national legal system. Member states may need to modify their laws to comply with the regulation.

What is a directive?

These differ from regulations in 2 ways:
  1. They don't have to be addressed to all Member States;
  2. They are binding as to the end to be achieved, there is some choice to form and method to the Member States.

Directives are very useful when the aim is to harmonize the laws within a certain area, or to introduce complex legislative change. Directives have a direct effect, so individuals can rely on them.
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What are 'rule-making decisions'?

Art. 288 TFEU states that decisions are binding in its entirety. A decision which is specifically addressed to someone, is only binding to them.

What are international agreements?

These are incorporated into its legal order by a Council decision following a non-legislative procedure. They are binding on the institutions and Member States and provide a criterion for the validity of EU acts.

What are inter-institutional agreements?

These are between the Council, Commission and EP and are a form of 'constitutional glue'. They can resolve high-level issues, provide guiding principles or lay foundations for more concrete legislative action. These can be of a binding nature (art. 295 TFEU).

What are recommendations, opinions and other non-binding acts?

Recommendations and opinions have no binding force (art. 288). So they also have no direct effect. They are a form of soft law just like policy guidelines provided by the Commission.

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