ABSTRACT
Regulations are the most prolific form of secondary legislation. In 1988, 434 regulations were enacted by the Council, in contrast to 63 directives and 131 decisions (see below). Once passed, regulations are automatically and directly binding upon all member states and no national legislation is required to put them into operation. This form of secondary legislation is therefore ‘directly applicable’ (the full meaning and significance of this term will be discussed below). The advantage of regulations is that they can promptly impose precise and consistent rules upon all member states and are binding in their entirety.
