Regulation (EU)

A regulation of the European Union ( English regulation , short form " Regulation (EU) ", colloquially EU regulation ) is a legal act of the European Union with general validity and direct effect in the member states . The regulations are part of secondary Union law . It differs from directives mainly in that the latter must first be converted into national law by the member states.

Legislative process

Regulations are issued on the basis of one of the procedures provided for in the Treaties depending on the subject of the regulation . A distinction is made between legislative acts , implementing regulations of the Commission and delegated regulations .

Ordinances, which are legislative acts, are usually adopted jointly by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament on a proposal from the European Commission in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure . In certain cases, however, special legislative procedures are foreseen.

Addressees

Regulations can be addressed to the European Union itself, to all Member States or to the citizens of all Member States. If the regulation is only to affect selected member states or their citizens, it will be issued as a resolution (directly binding) or as a directive (to be implemented by national law).

Differentiation from other legal acts of the EU

According to Art. 288 (2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), the regulations are those legal acts which have general applicability, are binding in their entirety and are directly applicable in every member state. They do not have to be transposed into national law by the EU member states (“penetration effect”). Modifications of the given regulations by the individual member states are fundamentally not possible ("implementation ban"). However, the regulations may also contain individual articles that expressly prescribe or allow adaptations to national law.

The regulations differ from the directives in terms of the penetration effect . Directives do not have direct application in a Member State, but can be directly applicable under certain conditions .

history

Before the Lisbon Treaty , regulations were only issued by the European Communities under the 1st pillar . Even if the term “EU regulations” was often used, this wording was incorrect, as these regulations (and also the directives) were issued by one of the European Communities and not the European Union . The German-language title of these earlier regulations begins with “Regulation (EG)” (or a reference to the respective community). For the regulations issued since the Treaty of Lisbon, the title begins with “Regulation (EU)” or - if they were adopted by the European Atomic Energy Community - “Regulation (EURATOM)”.

designation

title

Regulations that were enacted by November 30, 2009 are entitled "Regulation (EC) ..." ( Regulation of the European Community ) and regulations that have been enacted by November 1, 1993 are entitled "Regulation (EEC) ..." ( Regulation of the European Economic Community ), although they are now valid as regulations of the European Union.

number

The year has been put in front since 2015.

Old:

Regulation (EU) No. 1286/2014

New:

Regulation (EU) 2015/2421
Regulation (Euratom) 2016/52

publication

Regulations are published in the Official Journal of the European Union . They come into force on a date specified in the respective ordinance or on the twentieth day after their publication.

Legal recourse in the event of violations

If a member state violates an EU regulation, the Commission has the option of bringing an action before the European Court of Justice in the form of infringement proceedings under Art. 258 TFEU or other member states under Art. 259 TFEU .