Directive (European Union)

A directive is a legal act of the European Union that tells member states what goals they need to achieve, but it does not say exactly how they must do it. Each country in the European Union must create or change its own laws to meet these goals. This means that while the overall aim is set by the European Union, each country can decide the best way to put it into practice.

Directives are usually made using different legislative procedures, depending on what the directive is about. Before a directive is finally agreed upon, a draft version is made by the Commission. This draft is shared with experts from the Commission and from each country.

The draft directive, especially if it is about a difficult or important topic, is then sent to the Parliament and the Council. The Council is made up of ministers from each country. Both groups review the draft, give their thoughts, and finally decide whether to approve or reject it. This process helps make sure that all countries agree before a directive becomes official.

Justifications

Directives start with a preamble and some recitals. These parts explain the reasons behind the directive and connect it to other important rules.

There are good reasons why the European Union uses directives instead of regulations. First, it fits with the EU's idea of "subsidiarity", meaning decisions should be made as closely as possible to the people. Second, it recognizes that each country has its own unique legal system and traditions. Third, it gives each country the freedom to use its own words and methods when putting the directive into law, instead of forcing everyone to use the same official terms from Brussels. For example, EU Directive 2009/20/EC could have been a regulation, but because of the importance of subsidiarity, a directive was chosen instead.

Legal basis

The rules that allow the European Union to create directives come from Article 288 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. This article says that the EU's institutions can make different types of laws, including regulations, directives, decisions, recommendations, and opinions.

A directive must be followed by each Member State it is sent to, but each country can decide how to make the directive part of its own laws. This means that while the goal must be reached, countries have some freedom in how they do it.

Legal effect

Directives are rules that apply only to the countries in the European Union that they are sent to. Usually, these rules are sent to all countries, except for some special rules about farming.

Implementation

When a directive is made, it gives countries a time limit to follow its rules. Sometimes, a country already follows the rules, so it just keeps its laws the same. But most of the time, countries need to change their laws to match the directive. If a country does not change its laws correctly, the European Commission can take legal action against that country.

Direct effect

Even if a country has not followed a directive correctly, the European Court of Justice has said that people and companies can use the directive’s rules to ask for compensation if they were harmed by the country not following the rules.