Recommendation (EU)
Recommendations are legal acts of the European Union and as such are part of the Union's secondary law . Recommendations are usually issued by the European Commission , but sometimes also by the Council of the European Union or other bodies. They are defined in Art. 288 TFEU as non-legally binding legal acts, although some legal consequences are linked to their adoption. For example, legal acts which, according to the Treaties, are to be enacted “on the recommendation” of an institution cannot be enacted if such a recommendation is not available.
In addition to the recommendations, Art. 288 TFEU also provides for statements as legally non-binding legal acts. In addition, the institutions of the European Union - sometimes even without an express legal basis - adopt other legally non-binding acts, such as resolutions, declarations or conclusions.
Harmonization of legislation
In order to achieve the objectives of the Union, the Commission or the Council can issue recommendations on the harmonization of legal provisions, for example in the following areas: liberalization of services ( Art. 60 TFEU ), employment policy ( Art. 148 TFEU ), education and cultural policy ( Art. 165 to Art. 167 TFEU ) and health policy ( Art. 168 TFEU ). In addition, the Commission can make recommendations aimed at eliminating distortions of competition in the internal market ( Art. 117 TFEU ). If recommendations are issued by the Council, according to Art. 292 TFEU, the same majority requirements apply for the adoption of the recommendation as for the adoption of binding legal acts.
It is up to the Member States whether to implement the recommendations. If they implement a recommendation, it is part of the legal system of the member state, and the rights arising from it can only be enforced before the courts of the member state, but not before the European Court of Justice . However, the Court of Justice decides on requests for preliminary rulings from national courts regarding the interpretation of recommendations, since a uniform interpretation of the recommendations would also be in the interests of the European Union (or the European Communities). The prerequisite is that the recommendation is to be applied in the proceedings before the respective court. It makes no difference that recommendations are legally binding not by virtue of European law but rather by virtue of the law of the member states.
Economic and Monetary Union
According to Art. 120 TFEU “the Member States regard their economic policy as a matter of common interest”. To this end, the Council - after the European Council has adopted a conclusion on this - lays down the broad guidelines of the Member States' economic policies in a recommendation ( Article 121 (2 ) TFEU ). Paragraphs 2 and 3 of the aforementioned article provide for multinational surveillance: the Commission and the Council examine whether the Member States are complying with the recommendations. If a Member State does not comply with the recommendations, the Commission can only issue a warning; the Council may make specific recommendations to the Member State and also make them public. Ultimately, however, a member state cannot be forced to comply with the requirements of the Union.
A similar procedure is provided for in Art. 126 TFEU within the framework of the Stability and Growth Pact : Here too, the Council, after determining the existence of an excessive deficit, makes appropriate recommendations to the Member State concerned. If the member state does not comply with the recommendations, the Council can, however, take binding decisions under Article 126 (9) TFEU and force the member state to reduce its deficit. If the decision taken is not complied with, it can then, among other things, impose fines under Article 126 (11) TFEU .
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Matthias Pechstein, Matthias Köngeter, Philipp Kubicki: EU / EG procedural law: with templates and examination overviews . 3. Edition. Mohr Siebeck, 2007, ISBN 978-3-16-149269-3 .
