Gold-plating is a term used to characterise the process whereby the powers of an EU directive are extended when being transposed into the national laws of a member state.[1][2][3]
In an operational study relating to the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, the European Commission treats gold-plating as a source of interference with policy outcomes, defining gold-plating as "an excess of norms, guidelines and procedures accumulated at national, regional and local levels, which interfere with the expected policy goals to be achieved by such regulation".[1] Business lobbyists generally argue against gold-plating, because additional regulation tends to raise costs for businesses,[4] but there are a few companies who stand to benefit from it.[5]
In case of gold-plating, the European Court of Justice does in fact have jurisdiction to interpret EU law, even if the case at hand is not directly governed by EU law.[6]