The domestic significance of EU law is beyond question today. This is particularly true for provisions contained in EU directives. The author compares the influence of various forms of EU law on the application of German federal law with that on statutory interpretation in the United Kingdom. He concludes that legal comparison also supports the comprehensive exercise of discretion required by the CJEU in national legal application. This primarily means that compliance of domestic law with directives can be achieved not only through the methodological tool of statutory interpretation but also with equal intensity through directive-compliant legal development.