1. They are the legal justification for legislating; The EU is not sovereign, so it cannot legislate of its own accord, the EU must show that the legal powers flow from the treaties. So recitals set out which provisions of the treaties apply, and why the legislators think the law is necessary under them.
2. They are an aid to interpretation; the main body of the law should be read "in the light of" the recitals to understand the legislators' intent and to help ensure there is a consistent application of the law between all of the different courts and tribunals in the EU. These recitals are, of course, not part of the actual legal text and are thus not binding, but they're not inoperative.
1. They are the legal justification for legislating; The EU is not sovereign, so it cannot legislate of its own accord, the EU must show that the legal powers flow from the treaties. So recitals set out which provisions of the treaties apply, and why the legislators think the law is necessary under them.
2. They are an aid to interpretation; the main body of the law should be read "in the light of" the recitals to understand the legislators' intent and to help ensure there is a consistent application of the law between all of the different courts and tribunals in the EU. These recitals are, of course, not part of the actual legal text and are thus not binding, but they're not inoperative.