Transformations of Directives into Regulations: Towards a More Uniform Administrative Law?

Abstract

In the last two decades, the European Union (EU) legislative institutions transformed dozens of directives into regulations. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most familiar, even to the general public. For various reasons, however, EU legal scholars discuss these transformations sporadically. Framework nature justified the existence of directives. However, EU directives gradually become detailed, narrowing the margin of appreciation exercised by the Member States. We suggest a favourable view of such expansion of uniform frameworks, ranked to the administrative/public law addressing various economic activities in most cases. Transformations reduce the complexity of directives and national law implementing them. Decreasing expenditures and lesser effort in implementation, increased transparency, streamlining of interpretation could result from these transformations. Preference for regulations can enhance both efficiency and legitimacy of supranational policies of the EU shattered with multiple crises. However, prevailing decentralized enforcement of EU law requiring supplementing national legislation together with the EU multilingualism resulting in discourses separated by language barriers limit the advantages of regulations as supranational statutes. At the moment, there is no consensus on the desirability of these transformations. Further discussion is needed. the European Union, Directives, Regulations, Legislation, Supranationality, Statutory law