Minimum harmonisation

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Minimum harmonisation is a term used in European Union law.

If a piece of law (usually a directive but occasionally a regulation) is described as minimum harmonisation, it sets a threshold that national legislation must meet but may exceed the terms of the legislation.

It is usually easier to reach agreement on legislation drafted on such a basis, as it allows existing national legislation on issues such as consumer protection or the environment to remain in place. Therefore, most EU legislation has been implemented on such a basis.

In more recent years, however, the burden of EU law has led to calls for deregulation and to accusations that some member states still indulge in protectionism when they implementing directives into national law by gold-plating. Therefore, a growing minority of EU law contains maximum harmonisation provisions.

It is quite common for a directive or recommendation to consist of a mixture of maximum harmonisation and minimum harmonisation clauses.

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