There is no single legislative process, body or outcome within the EU.
Legal Instruments [1]:
Regulations:
Regulations are legally binding and directly applicable in national legal systems, even without implementation in national law.
Directives:
Directives are also legally binding, but it is left to member states to implement national law to achieve this.
Decisions:
Decisions are executive acts.
Co-decision (Usual Legislative Process):
Consent of both the Council and European Parliament is required before legislation can be adopted in the EU. [2]
Phases:
25% of legislation is accepted in the first reading.
50% of legislation is accepted in the second reading.
25% of legislation is accepted in the third reading.
First Reading:
The Commission submits a proposal to the European Parliament and Council. They discuss it separately and may propose amendments.
There is no time limit to facilitate negotiation.
Second Reading:
If agreement is not reached, the European Parliament decides whether to:
(a) Table amendments
(b) Approve the Council’s ‘Common Position’
(c) Reject the Council’s ‘Common Position’
There is a strict time limit at this stage.
Conciliation and Third Reading:
If agreement is still not reached, the European Parliament and Council convene in a joint consolation committee to try to reach agreement.
The European Parliament can veto at this stage, but they rarely execute this right in practice. It is the threat of veto, rather than its actual exercise, that makes the legislative process effective. [3]
References:
[1] Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Art 288 [2] Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Art 289 [3] Andrew Le Sueur, Maurice Sunkin, and Jo Eric Khushal Murkens, Public Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (4th edn, Oxford University Press 2019) 789
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