The rate of adoption of directives varies between countries and each member state may introduce changes, provided the general scope and limits of each directive are maintained.
Britain voted against the other 11 member states in their adoption of the directive.
Before the summit, a government source said: "We think there should be urgent adoption of [the directive].
I further hope that it will be possible to take advantage of the basic convergence of the views of the Commission and of this House, and to secure adoption of the Directive very early this year.
Such long delays were behind the proposals in a recent report by a group of "wise men", led by Baron Alexandre Lamfalussy, for a streamlined procedure for the adoption of EU directives on financial services and securities markets.
This characteristic led to the adoption of specific directives promoting this technique.
The Council is the institution which most delays the adoption of draft directives and regulations.
For instance, since the adoption of the directives in 1977, there has been an increase in the number of physicians emigrating to the United Kingdom from other Member States, although these numbers have reached a ceiling in more recent years.
The consequent adoption of two new directives (Directives 2000/43/EC and 2000/78/EC) brought to an increase in the level of discrimination, related to its taste-based component.
Commenting on the adoption of the NIS directive in a statement today, EC VP Andrus Ansip dubbed it the "first comprehensive piece of EU legislation on cybersecurity and a fundamental building block for our work in this area".
