Abstract

The European Regulatory Framework deeplyaffects everyday life of European citizens and strictlyregulates enterprise and industry in the Union.Nevertheless, most people have no or only little insight onhow European laws are generated, how they work andhow they are implemented. Terms of the jargoncommunataire like intergovernmental or communitymethod, directive, regulation, decision, recommendation,comitology, co-decision, etc. remain a mystery for mostpeople. To make things worse, the structure and thefunctioning of the European Union is extremely complex.Depending upon which policy is going to be regulated,different legislative procedures are employed involvingdifferent institutions. The complexity of the Union and itsprocedures are the in great part the result of nearly sixtyyears of compromises among Member States. In fact, weshould always keep in mind that the European Union is theonly supranational organisation worldwide whereindependent Member States totally delegate specificnational competencies to the Union, which exercises itspower in a sovereign manner having its own legislative,executive and judicial authorities. This review, far frombeing complete, wants to give some insight in theseprocedures and in the involved institutions or bodies.