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Legal basis
The legal basis for the enactment of directives is article 249 of the Treaty establishing the European Community and, as such, directives only apply within the European Community pillar of the European Union.
Legal effect
Directives are only binding on the member states to whom they are addressed, which can be just one member state or a group of them. In practice 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 only be required to keep their laws in place. But 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. 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.
Direct effect
Notwithstanding the fact that 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. And in 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.
See also
External links
- UK House of Commons: Report of the EU Legislative Process and scrutiny by national parliaments.
- EUR-Lex, European Union Law database.
- EU Legislative Procedures
