A recommendation in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, according to Article 288 of the
Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (formerly Article 249
TEC), is one of two kinds of non-
legal binding acts cited in the
Treaty of Rome, the other being an opinion.
Recommendations are without
legal force but are negotiated and voted on according to the
appropriate procedure. Recommendations differ from
regulations
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. Fo ...
,
directives and
decisions, in that they are not binding for Member States. Though without legal force, they do have a political weight. The recommendation is an instrument of indirect action aiming at preparation of legislation in Member States, differing from the Directive only by the absence of obligatory power.
Article 292 notes that the
European Commission
The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...
may make recommendations, and in specific cases the
European Central Bank
The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central component of the Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's Big Four (banking)#International ...
may also make recommendations.
Common market
According to the terms of the
Treaty on European Union "In order to ensure the proper functioning and development of the common market, the Commission (…) formulate recommendations or deliver
opinions
An opinion is a judgement, Point of view (philosophy), viewpoint, or Proposition, statement that is not conclusive, as opposed to facts, which are truth, true statements.
Definition
A given opinion may deal with subjectivity, subjective matters ...
on matters dealt with in this Treaty, if it expressively so provides or if the Commission considers it necessary."
Concretely, recommendations can be used by the commission to raze barriers of
competition
Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...
caused by the establishment or the modification of internal norms of a
Member State. If a country does not conform to a recommendation, the Commission cannot propose the adoption of a Directive aimed at other Member Countries, in order to elide this distortion.
Examples
The
European Council
The European Council (informally EUCO) is a collegiate body (directorial system) and a symbolic collective head of state, that defines the overall political direction and general priorities of the European Union (EU). It is composed of the he ...
issued a recommendation on the promotion of positive action for women at work on 13 December 1984, and the European Commission issued a recommendation on the protection of the dignity of women and men at work on 27 November 1991. A code of practice on measures to combat
sexual harassment
Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...
was appended to the latter recommendation, which put forward recommended actions for employers, trade unions and employees in the public and private sectors in all member states.
[EUR-Lex]
92/131/EEC: Commission Recommendation of 27 November 1991 on the protection of the dignity of women and men at work
accessed 31 December 2023
See also
*
EUR-Lex
EUR-Lex is the official online database of European Union law and other public documents of the European Union (EU), published in 24 official Languages of the European Union, languages of the EU. The Official Journal of the European Union, Offici ...
References
External links
EUROPA*
Recommendation
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