Means of Action in Europe

Means of Action in the European Union

The system of legislative acts had to be devised afresh when the EU was set up. It had to be decided first and foremost what forms Union legislation should take and what effects these should have. The institutions had to be able to align the disparate economic, social and not least environmental conditions in the various Member States, and do so effectively, i.e. without depending on the goodwill of the Member States, so that the best possible living conditions could be created for all the citizens of the Union. On the other hand, they were not to interfere in the domestic systems of law any more than necessary. The entire EU legislative system is therefore based on the principle that where the same arrangement, even on points of detail, must apply in all Member States, national arrangements must be replaced by Union legislation, but where this is not necessary due account must be taken of the existing legal orders in the Member States.

Context of Means Of Action in the European Union

Against this background a range of instruments was developed that allowed the Union institutions to impact on the national legal systems to varying degrees. The most drastic action is the replacement of national rules by Union ones. There are also Union rules by which the Union institutions act on the Member States’ legal systems only indirectly. Measures may also be taken that affect only a defined or identifiable addressee, in order to deal with a particular case. Lastly, provision is also made for legal acts that have no binding force, either on the Member States or on the citizens of the Union.

More about Means Of Action in the European Union

If we look at the range of EU legal instruments in terms of the persons to whom they are addressed and their practical effects in the Member States, they can be broken down as follows.