EU jargon can be baffling for those not familiar with the processes and instruments. Here EPHA profiles the different instruments which form part of the policy making process. This article focuses on recommendations.
A recommendation in the European Union, according to Article 288 of the Treaty on European Union (formerly Article 249 TEC), is one of two kinds of non-binding acts cited in the Treaty of Rome.
Recommendations are without legal force but are negotiated and voted on according to the appropriate procedure. Recommendations differ from regulations, directives and decisions, in that they are not binding for Member States.
Though without legal force, they do have a political weight. The recommendation is an instrument of indirect action aiming at preparation of legislation in Member States, differing from the Directive only by the absence of obligatory power.