The EU Commission issued a "Directive" to all member states.
This is not quite correct. The EU Commission can only propose directives - they are actually issued by the Council of Ministers (and subject to ratification by the European Parliament). The Council of Ministers consists of delegates from each member state nominated by the National Governments. Voting is by weighted majority (larger member states get more more votes). Directives are in many cases subject to a national veto within the Council.
It is an important difference. Many of the anti-EU activists in the UK like to cite such directives as Brussels forcing them to do something, whereas it is actually their own government in most cases, through their representative on the Council.
In the case of the United Kingdom, this directive is sometimes implemented by means of an Act of Parliament and sometimes by means of a Statutory Instrument.
This is also how it is implemented in Ireland. --------------------------------------------------------- Tom Wade | EMail: tee dot wade at eurokom dot ie EuroKom | Tel: +353 (1) 296-9696 A2, Nutgrove Office Park | Fax: +353 (1) 296-9697 Rathfarnham | Disclaimer: This is not a disclaimer Dublin 14 | Tip: "Friends don't let friends do Unix !" Ireland
