EU Directives are legislative acts from the EU legislature that define goals that member states are obligated to achieve, while affording each member state the discretion to determine how to incorporate these goals into their own national legislation. This contrasts with EU Regulations, which become immediately applicable in all member states upon enactment, without requiring transposition into national laws. They constitute the legal structure that businesses must adhere to in order to access the EU market, and they are intended to guarantee that products conform to the standardized safety, health, and environmental safeguards before being offered for sale within the EU.