EUROPA

A decision is a legislative measure with specific addressees. Like the regulation and the directive, it is one of the measures provided for in the nomenclature in Article 249 of the EC Treaty.

An instrument binding in its entirety upon those to whom it is addressed

Under Article 249 of the EC Treaty, a decision is binding. This means that it must be obeyed by those to whom it is addressed (Member States or individuals). It is binding in its entirety and cannot therefore be applied in an incomplete, selective or partial manner.

Decisions differ from directives and regulations.

• Unlike a directive, a decision sets out the means by which the desired result is to be achieved. This means that no measures are required to incorporate it into national law and that it confers rights and obligations on individuals, irrespective of any national implementing measure.
• Unlike a regulation, which is of general application, a decision has specific addressees. This distinction is sometimes hard to make when a regulation targets a restricted group or, conversely, if the scope of a decision is wide-ranging. The Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that, in making the distinction, what mattered was not the number of individuals targeted but the precision with which addressees are identified, so that a text drafted in an abstract and impersonal style should be classified as a regulation rather than a decision.

For a decision to enter into force, the interested parties must be informed. In principle, this procedure involves a recorded letter with proof of delivery. A decision may also be published in the Official Journal, but publication does not remove the need for notification, which is the only means by which it can be made binding on the recipient.

Decisions without specific addressees and third-pillar decisions

There are two further types of decision other than those mentioned in Article 249 of the EC Treaty, namely decisions without specific addressees and third-pillar decisions.

Decisions without specific addressees are atypical acts adopted under the treaties, like decisions taken by the Council under the flexibility clause (Article 308 of the EC Treaty). They differ from Article 249 decisions, which have an identifiable addressee.

Third-pillar decisions, which are mentioned in Article 34 of the Treaty on the European Union (EU Treaty), are decisions that may or may not have addressees. They can be applied widely as they can be used for any purpose covered by the objectives of Title VI (police and judicial cooperation) other than for the approximation of national legislation. In practice, third-pillar decisions resemble Community regulations, but they cannot be relied upon by individuals.

Decisions and the Constitution

The Constitutional Treaty keeps decisions but changes their name. They will henceforth be known as "European decisions". They are not fundamentally different to Article 249 decisions and are binding acts directly applicable to the persons to whom they are addressed. The Constitutional Treaty clearly states that they are non-legislative acts (Articles I-33(1) and I-35(1)). This means that competence for adopting such acts rests with the Commission (Article I-37) and not with the legislator, i.e. jointly with the Council and Parliament (Article I-35).

The Constitutional Treaty abolishes third-pillar decisions. As police and judicial cooperation comes under ordinary law, it is subject to the general instruments provided for by the Treaty (European laws and framework laws).

The Treaty provides for the use of European decisions to cover the common foreign and security policy (CFSP) (Article I-40(3)) and the European security and defence policy (ESDP) (Article I-41(4)). Decisions will become the basic instruments of the CFSP as laws and framework laws are excluded (Article I-40(6)). Unlike European decisions with specific addressees, European CFSP decisions may be adopted by the Council and the European Council.