Legal instrument of the European Union (www.practicallaw.com/6-107-6562) which requires Member States (www.practicallaw.com/A36433) to achieve a particular result within their internal legal order without dictating the means of achieving that result. Directives normally leave Member States with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives can be adopted by the Council of the European Union (www.practicallaw.com/A41716) in conjunction with the European Parliament (www.practicallaw.com/A36026) or by the European Commission (www.practicallaw.com/A35081) alone. If a directive has not been transposed into national legislation in a Member State, if it has been transposed incompletely or if there is a delay in transposing it, citizens can directly invoke the directive in question before the national courts.