Legal instruments
Regulations, directives and decisions are the most important legal instruments in EU law. They are legally binding onthose to whom they are directed.
Recommendations and opinions are not legally binding.
The European Union may not, because it has no legal personality.
The future
The Lisbon Treaty establishes legal personality for the whole Union (Art. 47 TEU). It replaces the European Community by the new Union and abolishes the existing pillar structure, thus bringing foreign policy and security, and crime, justice and home affairs - which were previously inter-governmental, with States retaining their sovereignty - either wholly or largely within the ambit of the new Union
Links
See also euabc.com pdf file ondecision-making according to the EU Constitution:
http://www.euabc.com/upload/pdf/decision_making.pdf
