Implementation of EU legislation
Regulations have immediate and binding effect and do not have to be transposed to national laws. Directives and framework decisions, on the other hand, have to be transposed to national laws. Member States sometimes amend their national legislation just to accommodate the Community requirements. Eighty-five per cent of directives are transposed to Danish law by administrative means, usually by way of an authority for the Minister contained in a source act. The EU’s influence may be difficult to detect. Figures given for the percentage of all laws that emanate from the EU are not always correct. Most figures only take account of laws which are adopted in the Danish Parliament itself.
Notes
- In 2005 the EU adopted 3124 different legal acts. Fifty-seven were adopted by common decision-making processes, in which the European Parliament is consulted.
- In the revision of the Danish Post Office Act in 1995, for example, an anticipated EU directive on postal business was taken into account, according to an answer to Parliament by the Transport Ministry on 14 May 1999.
