This article is part of the series: Politics and government of the European Union
President José Manuel Barroso Barroso Commission
President Hans-Gert Pöttering MEPs (2004-09 term)
Presidency: Portugal (Luís Amado) High Representative · Voting
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A directive is a legislative act of the European Union which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from European Union regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives normally leave member states with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on its subject matter.

Legal basis
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.

Direct Effect

List of European Union directives
European Union law
EUR-Lex
EudraLex