How does EU legislation come about?

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Photo of the European Parliament with numerous people raising their hands for the vote

A voting session in the European Parliament (25 April 2024) (© European Union 2024).

The Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU – one of the EU's crucial legislative institutions – is drawing to a close. So let's just recap: how exactly does EU legislation come about and what role does the Council play in that process?

When we hear in the media that the European Commission wants to ban disposable plastic or establish the duty of care (due diligence) for companies, for example, it certainly does not mean that this legislation has already been finalised. After a legislative proposal is put forward by the Commission, many different steps then take place before the proposal is finally approved and enters into force. In some cases, that process can drag on for a long time. Below, we will explain the ordinary legislative procedure, both in a nutshell and in detail.

The main bodies within the EU legislative process

  • The European Commission is pretty much the government of the European Union. In principle, only it can propose new European legislation, on its own initiative, at the request of other EU institutions or in response to a citizens' initiative. Once legislation has been approved, the Commission will implement the proposals.
  • The European Parliament consists of the people's representatives of the 27 EU Member States. It is primarily responsible for amending and approving proposals put forward by the Commission.
  • The Council of the EU – also known as the Council – is made up of the specialist ministers from the 27 EU Member States. Overall, the Council includes 10 ‘configurations’ each with its own theme: Agriculture and Fisheries, Environment, Economic and Financial Affairs, Transport, Telecommunications and Energy, Foreign Affairs, General Affairs and so on. The Council of the EU is primarily responsible for amending and approving proposals put forward by the Commission.

Please note: Do not confuse the Council of the EU with the European Council, which consists of the Heads of State and government leaders of the 27 EU Member States. The European Council only sets the general political direction of the EU and leaves legislation to the Council of the European Union.

  • The more than 150 working groups and committees are made up of officials from all Member States. Although they remain in the background, they nevertheless play a crucial role. Indeed, at each reading (1st, 2nd or 3rd readings – see text) by the Council, the working groups and committees review the proposals and ensure their technical elaboration. Meetings are chaired by an official of the country holding the presidency of the Council. Our FPS is mainly active within working groups and committees.
  • COREPER stands for ‘the committee of the permanent representatives of the governments of the EU Member States’, who are basically their country's ambassadors to the EU. They discuss the preparatory work carried out by the working groups and committees. If necessary, they can send the proposal back to the working groups for review. If the proposal is satisfactory, it will go to the Council configurations for a final decision. Those meetings will also be chaired by an official of the country holding the presidency of the Council.

Types of EU legislation

  • A regulation is a binding law that applies throughout the EU.
  • A directive is a law that sets a certain (binding) goal that EU countries must achieve. However, they are allowed to enact legislation themselves in order to achieve that (binding) goal (this is known as the ‘transposition’ of directives). The legislation concerning disposable plastic, for example, is a directive. A directive may also only apply to a limited number of Member States.
  • A decision is a binding law, but only for the EU country or company to which it is addressed.
  • A recommendation or piece of advice is not binding.


THE ORDINARY LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE IN A NUTSHELL

  1. The European Commission submits a proposal to the Council of the EU and to the European Parliament.
  2. The Council and the Parliament adopt the proposal either after a 1st reading or after a 2nd reading.
  3. If the Council and the Parliament do not reach an agreement after the 2nd reading, a Conciliation Committee is set up.
  4. If the text agreed upon by the Conciliation Committee is acceptable to the Council and the Parliament after the 3rd reading, the legislation is adopted.

If a legislative proposal is rejected at any stage of the procedure, or if the Parliament and the Council cannot reach a compromise, the proposal is not adopted and the procedure ends. The Commission can then always put forward a new proposal.

Photo of a room with a round table at which numerous people are seated with a screen in front of them

Foreign Affairs Council configuration on trade (24 May 2024) (© European Union 2024).


THE ORDINARY LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE IN DETAIL


1. The legislative proposal


The European Commission submits a legislative proposal to the Council of the EU and to the European Parliament. At the same time, it forwards the legislative proposal to the national parliaments for examination. Legislative proposals are adopted by Commissioners with or without discussion.

In principle, only the Commission can initiate a legislative procedure, but the Parliament and the Council can ask the Commission to formulate a legislative proposal.

In some specific cases, other institutions may also initiate a legislative procedure: the European Central Bank, the European Investment Bank and the European Court of Justice. This can also be done by at least a quarter of the Member States in the case of judicial cooperation (criminal cases) and police cooperation.

Finally, EU citizens can also initiate a legislative procedure, provided that a proposal has been signed by at least 1 million EU citizens (this is known as a ’European Citizens' Initiative’).
 

2. 1st reading


The European Parliament examines the Commission's proposal and can either:

  • adopt it
  • submit amendments (= proposed changes).

Afterwards, the Council may:

  • accept Parliament's position: the law has been adopted
  • itself amend the Parliament's position: the proposal returns to the Parliament for a 2nd reading.

The 1st reading has no time limit.

The 1st reading can be preceded by an intermediate step in order to reach agreement more quickly:

  • Trilogues: the Council, Parliament and Commission can hold informal joint meetings (= trilogues) in which representatives of the 3 institutions sit. Discussions can be purely technical (officials) or political (ministers and EU commissioners). The resulting agreement remains informal and must subsequently be approved by each of the 3 institutions according to their respective internal rules.
  • General approach: before the Parliament adopts its position, this document enables the Council to inform the Parliament of its position on the legislative proposal from the Commission.
     

3. 2nd reading


The European Parliament examines the Council's position (amendment) and can then either:

  • approve the proposal: the law has been adopted
  • reject it: the law does not take effect and the procedure will end
  • submit amendments and send the proposal back to the Council for a 2nd reading.

The Council considers the 2nd reading by the Parliament and can either:

  • approve the Parliament's amendments: the law has been adopted
  • not approve the amendments: the Conciliation Committee will be convened.

The 2nd reading has a deadline of 3 months for each institution, which can be extended by 1 month if necessary.
 

4. Conciliation


A Conciliation Committee will be convened if the Council does not approve all of the Parliament's amendments after a 2nd reading. The committee will consist of an equal number of members of Parliament and representatives of the Council. It must find agreement on a text that is acceptable to both institutions.

The committee can either:

  • Fail to agree on a joint text: the legislation will not be adopted and the procedure will end
  • Agree on a joint text: the text will be sent to the Parliament and the Council for a 3rd reading.

The Conciliation Committee must be established within 6 to 8 weeks. It then has 6 weeks to come up with a joint text.
 

5. 3rd reading


The European Parliament examines the joint text and can either:

  • Reject it or fail to act on it: the proposal is not adopted and the procedure will end
  • Approve the text: if the Council does the same, the law has been adopted.

The Council examines the text and can either:

  • Reject it or fail to act on it: the proposal will not be adopted and the procedure will end
  • Approve the text: if the Parliament does the same, the law has been adopted.

The Parliament and the Council will have a period of 6 weeks for the 3rd reading, starting from the date on which the joint text was approved.

Unanimity is sometimes required for approval, but as a rule, a majority vote is sufficient: in the Parliament, a simple majority (a majority of votes cast) will apply and in the Council, a qualified majority. After final approval, the new legislation is officially published as a regulation, directive or decision.
 

DURATION OF THE LEGISLATIVE PROCEDURE


No fixed duration applies to a legislative procedure (from the time of submission by the Commission to its formal adoption by the Council). If everything goes smoothly, the procedure may have been completed after 8 to 9 months, but it can just as easily – especially in the case of sensitive topics – drag on for several years. After all, there is no time limit for the 1st reading. And if unanimity is required, the procedure will often take longer than if a majority vote is sufficient.

A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE: THE BANNING OF PLASTIC DRINKING STRAWS (directive)

  • European Commission submits a proposal for an EU-wide ban on certain single-use plastic products – 28 May 2018
  • The Environment ministers from all 27 Member States discuss in the Council which elements of the proposal they support or reject (general approach) – 31 October 2018
  • The Council presidency negotiates a provisional agreement (trilogue) with the European Parliament – reached on 19 December 2018
  • The ambassadors of all 27 EU countries (COREPER) approve the preliminary agreement – 18 January 2019
  • The European Parliament approves the agreement reached with the Council
  • The Council formally adopts the agreement with the European Parliament – 21 May 2019
  • The law on disposable plastic enters into force – 2 July 2019
  • National governments and parliaments transpose the new rules into national law. The ban on plastic straws enters into force in the EU – 3 July 2021

Source: The ordinary legislative procedure

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