Secondary (or ordinary) legislation in the EU system (not to be confused with secondary sources) includes the following:
Regulations (not to be confused with U.S. agency regulations) have general application and are binding and directly applicable in each member country.
Directives are binding only as to the result. A directive establishes regional policy. Directives require implementation through national legislation in the member states. Most EU secondary legislation is in the form of directives.
In addition, the researcher should be aware of communications or non-legislative acts like decisions and recommendations. Decisions are binding only on those to whom they are addressed. Recommendations include notices and guidelines that are not binding. Such nonbinding communications may be useful in terms of interpreting binding legislation.
The Integrated Guide referenced above contains the following document location chart, which covers treaties, EU legislation, and court decisions.
In addition to the Eur-Lex website, most EU secondary legislation can be found via Westlaw (WL Home > Content Types > International Materials > Jurisdictions > European Union > European Union Legislation) or Lexis (Lexis Home > Explore Content > International > All Countries > European Union > All European Union Statutes & Legislation). The Eur-Lex website provides a template for simple searching. Westlaw and Lexis allow for more complex term and connector or Boolean searching.
EU Document Location Chart from European Union Law: An Integrated Guide to Electronic and Print Research