EU law is divided into 'primary' and 'secondary' legislation. The treaties (primary legislation) are the basis or ground rules for all EU action. Secondary legislation – which includes regulations, directives and decisions – are derived from the principles and objectives set out in the treaties.

The EU's standard decision-making procedure is known as 'Ordinary Legislative Procedure' (also called "co-decision"). This means that the European Commission has the initiative for a legislative proposal. The European Parliament has to approve the legal instrument together with the Council (the governments of the 27 EU countries) by co-decision.

If you are interested to learn more about the European Union's legislative processes, please visit the websites of the European Union and of the European Parliament