Delegated acts

Under Article 290 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the European Union (EU) legislator may grant powers — to the Commission — through specific rules inscribed into a legislative act (the ‘basic act’) to adopt ‘delegated acts’. Delegated acts are non-legislative acts adopted by the European Commission that serve to amend or supplement the non-essential elements of the legislation.

The Commission’s powers to adopt delegated acts are subject to strict conditions:

• the basic act must define the objectives, content, scope and duration of the delegation of power;
• the actual delegated act — adopted on the basis of this delegation — cannot change the essential elements of the basic act;
• delegated acts can only be of general application (i.e. cannot address individual situations).

The Commission consults experts from the EU Member States before adopting delegated acts. Furthermore, either the European Parliament or the Council of the European Union may revoke the delegation of power to the Commission. In addition, a delegated act adopted by the Commission can only enter into force if no objection is raised by the Council or the Parliament, within the deadline set in the basic act, which is usually 2 months.

Delegated acts are used, typically, when legislative acts — including their Annexes — have to be (regularly) adapted to take account of technical and scientific progress.

SEE ALSO

• Council of the European Union
• European Commission
• European Parliament
• European Union (EU) hierarchy of norms
• Implementing acts
• Legislative acts
• Member States
• Non-legislative acts
• Treaties
• The European Union’s secondary law (summary)
• Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (summary).