Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government how European Union regulations are brought into being; what is their force in United Kingdom law; and how many have been issued since 1976.

An EU regulation is adopted by a legislative procedure, i.e. by the ordinary legislative procedure or by a special legislative procedure, (see Article 289(3) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU)). The legal effect of an EU regulation is that it is directly applicable in the national law of all the Member States and it is binding in its entirety, (see Article 288 TFEU). The Government does not centrally hold information on each EU regulation issued since 1976. The Eur-Lex database, available at: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html holds further information on EU legislation.

A copy of Articles 288 and 289 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) is attached.