Creating Regulations, Directives and Soft Law in the European Union.

This report summarizes the administrative law involved in making generally applicable laws and rules at the European Community (the "EC") in the European Union (the "EU"). It is based on specific sector reports in the areas of competition, the environment, financial services, food safety, telecommunications, and the workplace. It deals with the participation of the European Commission in lawmaking, both in proposing legislation to the Council and Parliament and in exercising delegated implementing powers under legislation through various committees ("comitology") and through interaction with national and EU-level standards organizations (the "new approach" process for setting "technical" standards). It also addresses the evolving role of EC agencies. It does not deal with the legislative processes of the Council or Parliament.This report is carried out under the auspices of the American Bar Association's Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice. It is part of a project intended to help Americans understand the administrative law of the European Union. This particular element of it is concerned with activities parallel to what American administrative lawyers know as "rulemaking." It describes how the European Commission (the EU executive) works to shape legal texts - statutes, regulations, even influential advice - in comparison to American approaches, and in a context in which access, transparency, influence and accountability are increasingly important. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]