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A directive is a legal act of the European Union,^[1] which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives normally leave member states with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on their subject matter.

There are justifications for using a directive rather than a regulation: (i) it complies with the EU's desire for "subsidiarity"; and (ii) it acknowledges that different member States have different legal systems, legal traditions and legal processes; and (ii) the Member State may choose its own statutory wording, rather than accepting the Brussels' official "Eurospeak"translation. So, for example, while EU Directive 2009/20/EC (which simply requires all vessels visiting EU ports to have P&I cover) could have been done perfectly well as a regulation (without bothering Member States to implement the directive), the desire for subsidiarity was paramount and thus a directive was the chosen vehicle.

Legal basis

The legal basis for the enactment of directives is Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (formerly Article 249 TEC).

Article 288
To exercise the Union's competences, the institutions shall adopt regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations and opinions.
A regulation shall have general application. It shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
A directive shall be binding, as to the result to be achieved, upon each Member State to which it is addressed, but shall leave to the national authorities the choice of form and methods.
A decision shall be binding in its entirety upon those to whom it is addressed.

Recommendations and opinions shall have no binding force.

The Council can delegate legislative authority to the Commission and, depending on the area and the appropriate legislative procedure, both institutions can seek to make laws.^[2] There are Council directives and Commission directives. Article 288 does not clearly distinguish between legislative acts and administrative acts, as is normally done in national legal systems.^[3]

Creation of a directive

The text of a draft directive (if subject to the co-decision process, as contentious matters usually are) is prepared by the Commission after consultation with its own and national experts. The draft is presented to the Parliament and the Council—composed of relevant ministers of member governments, initially for evaluation and comment, then subsequently for approval or rejection.

Legal effect

Directives are binding only on the member states to whom they are addressed, which can be just one member state or a group of them. In general, however, with the exception of directives related to the Common Agricultural Policy, directives are addressed to all member states.

Implementation

When adopted, directives give member states a timetable for the implementation of the intended outcome. Occasionally, the laws of a member state may already comply with this outcome, and the state involved would be required only to keep its laws in place. More commonly, member states are required to make changes to their laws (commonly referred to as transposition) in order for the directive to be implemented correctly. This is done in approximately 99% of the cases.^[4] If a member state fails to pass the required national legislation, or if the national legislation does not adequately comply with the requirements of the directive, the European Commission may initiate legal action against the member state in the European Court of Justice. This may also happen when a member state has transposed a directive in theory but has failed to abide by its provisions in practice.

Direct effect

Even though directives were not originally thought to be binding before they were implemented by member states, the European Court of Justice developed the doctrine of direct effect where unimplemented or badly implemented directives can actually have direct legal force. In the very important case of Francovich v. Italy, the court ECJ extended the principle of Van Gend en Loos ^[5] to provide that Member States who failed to implement a directive could incur liability to pay damages to individuals and companies who had been adversely affected by such non-implementation.

References

^ European Union law after Maastricht: a practical guide for lawyers outside the common. The Union has two primary types of legislative acts, directives and regulations
^ Christine Fretten; Vaughne Miller (21 July 2005). "The European Union: a guide to terminology procedures and sources" (Document). UK House of Commons Library, International Affairs and Defence Section. p. 8. Standard Note: SN/IA/3689. Both the Council of Ministers and the Commission are empowered under the EC Treaty to make laws. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archivedate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archiveurl= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |format= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)
^ Steiner, Josephine; Woods, Lorna; Twigg-Flesner, Christian (2006). EU Law (9th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 56–60. ISBN 978-0-19-927959-3.
^ "Internal Market Scoreboard: best result ever – Member States reach new target ahead of deadline". Europa (web portal). 9 July 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
^ Van Gend en Loos: EU Treaties are capable of creating legal rights enforceable by both natural and legal persons in the courts of Member States.

External links

[1] European Union law after Maastricht: a practical guide for lawyers outside the common. The Union has two primary types of legislative acts, directives and regulations

[CommonsLib-2] Christine Fretten; Vaughne Miller (21 July 2005). "The European Union: a guide to terminology procedures and sources" (Document). UK House of Commons Library, International Affairs and Defence Section. p. 8. Standard Note: SN/IA/3689. Both the Council of Ministers and the Commission are empowered under the EC Treaty to make laws. {{cite document}}: Unknown parameter |accessdate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archivedate= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |archiveurl= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |format= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |url= ignored (help)

[Steiner-p56-3] Steiner, Josephine; Woods, Lorna; Twigg-Flesner, Christian (2006). EU Law (9th ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 56–60. ISBN 978-0-19-927959-3.

[4] "Internal Market Scoreboard: best result ever – Member States reach new target ahead of deadline". Europa (web portal). 9 July 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2009.

[5] Van Gend en Loos: EU Treaties are capable of creating legal rights enforceable by both natural and legal persons in the courts of Member States.

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@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 A '''directive''' is a legal act of the [[European Union]],<ref>{{cite book |title=European Union law after Maastricht: a practical guide for lawyers outside the common |quote=The Union has two primary types of legislative acts, directives and regulations}}</ref> which requires [[Member state of the European Union|member states]] to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from [[Regulation (European Union)|regulations]] which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives normally leave member states with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives can be adopted by means of a variety of [[European Union legislative procedure|legislative procedures]] depending on their subject matter.
+There are justifications for using a directive rather than a regulation: (i) it complies with the EU's desire for [[subsidiarity#General principle of European Union law|"subsidiarity"]]; and (ii) it acknowledges that different member States have different legal systems, legal traditions and legal processes; and (ii) the Member State may choose its own statutory wording, rather than accepting the Brussels' official "[[Eurospeak]]"translation. So, for example, while EU Directive 2009/20/EC (which simply requires all vessels visiting EU ports to have [[Protection and Indemnity Insurance|P&I]] cover) could have been done perfectly well as a regulation (without bothering Member States to implement the directive), the desire for subsidiarity was paramount and thus a directive was the chosen vehicle.
 ==Legal basis==
@@ Line 31: / Line 33: @@
 ===Direct effect===
-Even though directives were not originally thought to be binding before they were implemented by member states, the European Court of Justice developed the [[doctrine]] of [[direct effect]] where unimplemented or badly implemented directives can actually have direct legal force. Also, in [[Francovich principle|Francovich v. Italy]], the court found that member states could be liable to pay damages to individuals and companies who had been adversely affected by the non-implementation of a directive.
+Even though directives were not originally thought to be binding before they were implemented by member states, the European Court of Justice developed the [[doctrine]] of [[direct effect]] where unimplemented or badly implemented directives can actually have direct legal force. In the very important case of [[Francovich principle|Francovich v. Italy]], the court ECJ extended the principle of ''[[Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen |Van Gend en Loos]]'' <ref> ''Van Gend en Loos'':  EU Treaties are capable of creating legal rights enforceable by both [[natural person|natural]] and [[legal person]]s in the courts of Member States.</ref> to provide that Member States who failed to implement a directive could incur liability to pay damages to individuals and companies who had been adversely affected by such non-implementation.
 ==See also==

v t e Judiciary and law of the European Union
Judiciary	Court of Justice of the European Union European Court of Justice members Advocates General General Court Civil Service Tribunal European lawyer Relationship with ECHR Public Prosecutor European civil code
Treaties	Rome Treaty Merger Treaty Single European Act Maastricht Treaty Amsterdam Treaty Nice Treaty Lisbon Treaty Charter of Fundamental Rights Opt-outs
Acts	Acquis: Regulation Directive Framework Directive Decision Recommendation Digital Services Act
Procedures	Ordinary legislative procedure Consultation procedure Consent procedure Commission and Council acting alone Commission acting alone
Principles and terms	Acquis communautaire EUR-Lex Direct applicability Direct effect European labour law European Enforcement Order Gold-plating Four freedoms Home state regulation Indirect effect Incidental effect Minimum harmonisation Maximum harmonisation Preliminary ruling Precautionary principle Principle of legal certainty Recasting Principle of conferral Proportionality Staatenverbund State liability Subsidiarity Supremacy
Regulations	Council Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001 Council Regulation (EC) No. 1348/2000 Customs Regulation 1383/2003 Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 EU-Eco-regulation Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2257/94 Commission Regulation (EU) No. 1170/2011 Customs Regulation 3295/94 Regulation on roaming charges Brussels Regime CLP Regulation Regulation on Community designs Societas Europaea European Union System for the Evaluation of Substances Commission Regulation (EC) No 474/2006 REACH Rome II Regulation Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation
Directives	Good Clinical Practice Directive Data Protection Directive ATEX directive Battery Directive Best available technology Biocidal Products Directive Birds Directive Capital Requirements Directives Clinical Trials Directive Computer Programs Directive Conditional Access Directive Copyright Duration Directive (93/98/EEC) Copyright Term Directive (2006/116/EC) Cosmetics Directive Dangerous Substances Directive (67/548/EEC) Dangerous Preparations Directive Data Retention Directive Database Directive Database right Directive 2000/43/EC on Anti-discrimination Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation Information Society Directive (first Copyright directive) Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive on the Promotion of the use of biofuels and other renewable fuels for transport Directive on the re-use of public sector information Directive on Electricity Production from Renewable Energy Sources End of Life Vehicles Directive CHP Directive Directive on the energy performance of buildings Directive on the enforcement of intellectual property rights Directive 2004/38/EC on the right to move and reside freely Environmental liability directive European SEA Directive 2001/42/EC European units of measurement directives Habitats Directive Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Internal Market in Electricity Directive Landfill Directive Directive on the legal protection of biotechnological inventions Directive on the legal protection of designs Markets in Financial Instruments Directive Measuring Instruments Directive Medical Devices Directive Posted Workers Directive Pressure Equipment Directive Rental Directive Resale Rights Directive Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive Satellite and Cable Directive Directive on services in the internal market Temporary and Agency Work Directive Trade Marks Directive European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Unfair Commercial Practices Directive Universal Service Directive Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive Waste Incineration Directive Waste framework directive Water Framework Directive Working Time Directive
Cases	ECJ Rulings (Caselex): Allonby v Accrington and Rossendale College Apostolides v Orams Bosman Cassis de Dijon Chacón Navas v Eurest Colectividades SA Chen Ciarán Tobin Coleman v Attridge Law Costa v ENEL Factortame Francovich Kamer van Koophandel en Fabrieken voor Amsterdam v Inspire Art Ltd Kolpak Microsoft Corp. v. Commission Marleasing SA v La Comercial Internacional de Alimentacion SA Metock Nordsee Palacios de la Villa v Cortefiel Servicios SA Peter Paul and Others v Bundesrepublik Deutschland Procureur du Roi v Dassonville Ralf Sieckmann v Deutsches Patent und Markenamt Tanja Kreil Van Duyn v Home Office Van Gend en Loos
Fraud	Court of Auditors European Anti-Fraud Office Accountability in the European Union
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