The addressees of a directive

Abstract From Article 249(3) it follows that a directive can be addressed to and is binding upon Member States alone. Unlike ECSC recommendations, an EC directive cannot be addressed to subjects of Community law other than the Member States. Although directives may be directed to one Member State or to a certain number of Member States, in practice they are usually addressed to all of them. Furthermore, the fact that according to the terms of Article 249(3) the binding force of a directive exists only in relation to the Member State to which it is addressed has led the Court of Justice to decide that a directive cannot impose obligations on an individual.