L’utilisation d’actes de soft law par les agences de l’Union européenne

EU agencies are actors with an increasing influence on the EU decision-making process, even if they have been given mainly instrumental, non-binding powers. Interestingly, EU agencies are highly reliant on soft rule-making. Indeed, through the adoption of formally non-binding acts EU agencies may circumvent the constitutional limits that constrain their powers. Therefore, this article examines the different soft-law measures enacted by EU agencies, dividing them in 4 categories, based on the margin of discretion they leave to the addressees. Then this framework is used for analysing the differences and addressing the problems concerning the rule-making processes followed for the adoption of these acts and the extent of the judicial review.