Acquis communautaire is a French term meaning, essentially "the EU as it is" - in other words, it is the body of common rights and obligations which bind all Member States together with the European Union. The acquis includes all the EU's treaties and laws, declarations and resolutions, international agreements on EU affairs and the judgments given by the Court of Justice. Applicant countries have to accept the Community acquis before they can join the Union, which means taking the EU as you find it. Candidate countries have to accept the acquis before they can join the EU, and make EU law part of their own national legislation. During this process, the acquis is negotiated between the European Union and the candidate member states.

The acquis is divided into 35 negotiating chapters (see https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/enlargement-policy/conditions-membership/chapters-acquis_en) covering different legislative aspects, including e.g. Chapter 10. Information society and media; chapter 20 Enterprise and industrial policy, chapter 25 Science and research, chapter 26 Education and culture, etc.

The acquis in the field of science and research does not require the transposition of EU rules into the national legal order. Implementation capacity relates to the existence of the necessary conditions for effective participation in the EU’s Framework Programmes. In order to ensure the full and successful association with the Framework Programmes, Member States need to ensure the necessary implementing capacities in the field of research and technological development including adequate staffing.

The areas of education, training, youth and culture are primarily the competence of the Member States. A cooperation framework on education and training policies aims to converge national policies and the attainment of shared objectives through an open method of coordination which integrates all actions in the fields of education and training at the European level. As regards cultural diversity, Member States need to uphold the principles enshrined in Article 151 of the EC Treaty and ensure that their international commitments allow for preserving and promoting cultural diversity. Member States need to have the legal, administrative and financial framework and necessary implementing capacity in place to ensure sound financial management of the education, training and youth Community programmes.