EU/EEA family in brief:
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens...y/index_en.htm

Applying for a visa

If your non-EU family members need an entry visa, they should apply for one in advance from the consulate or embassy of the country they wish to travel to. If they will be travelling together with you, or joining you in another EU country, their application should be processed quickly and free of charge:

Countries which are members of the border-free Schengen area should issue visas within 15 days, except in rare cases, when the authorities should provide an explanation of their decision.
All other countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Ireland, Romania, UK) should issues visas as quickly as possible.
In more detail:
EU/EEA applications (Directive 2004/38/EC - freedom of movement), is explained in the EU Handbook for embassies "Operational instructions for the application of the Visa Code are further specified in the Handbook for the processing of visa applications and the modification of issued visas" in great detail under chapter 3. It can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/home-affairs...y/index_en.htm


"3.6. Supporting documents
In order to prove that the applicant has the right to be issued with an entry visa under the Directive, he must establish that he is a
beneficiary of the Directive. This is done by presenting documents relevant for the purposes of the three questions referred to above, i.e. proving that:
• there is an EU citizen from whom the visa applicant can derive any rights;
• the visa applicant is a family member (e.g. a marriage certificate, birthcertificate, proof of dependency, serious health grounds,
durability of partnerships ...) and his identity (passport); and
• the visa applicant accompanies or joins an EU citizen (e.g. a proof that the EU
citizen already resides in the host Member State or a confirmation that the EU
citizen will travel to the host Member State).

It is an established principle of EU law in the area of free movement that visa applicants have
the right of choice of the documentary evidence by which they wish to prove that they are
covered by the Directive (i.e. of the family link, dependency ...) . Member States may,
however, ask for specific documents (e.g. a marriage certificate as the means of proving the
existence of marriage), but should not refuse other means of proof.

For further information in relation to the documentation, see Commission Communication
COM (2009) 313 final 22.

3.7. Burden of proof
The burden of proof applicable in the framework of the visa application under the Directive is
twofold:
Firstly, it is up to the visa applicant to prove that he is a beneficiary of the Directive. He must
be able to provide documentary evidence foreseen above as he must be able to present evidence to support his claim.

If he fails to provide such evidence, the consulate can conclude that the applicant is not
entitled to the specific treatment under the Directive. Additional documents may not be required regarding the purpose of travel and means of subsistence (e.g. proof of accommodation, proof of cost of travelling),which is reflected in the exemption for family members of EU citizens from filling in the following fields of the visa application form: (...)"
Embassies have to give direct access to their embassy (Schengen Visa Code, article 17.5), service providers are optional and it should be made clear that one does not have to go by them.
The handbook explains in the "Handbook for the organisation of visa sections and local Schengen cooperation" the following:

"4.4. Direct access
Maintaining the possibility for visa applicants to lodge their applications directly at the consulate instead of via an external service provider implies that there should be a genuine choice between these two possibilities.

Even if direct access does not have to be organised under identical or similar conditions to those for access to the service provider, the conditions should not make direct access impossible in practice. Even if it is acceptable to have a different waiting time for obtaining an appointment in the case of direct access, the waiting time should not be so long that it would render direct access impossible in practice.

The different options available for lodging a visa application should be presented plainly to the public, including clear information both on the choice and the cost of the additional services of the external service provider (see Part I, point 4.1)."
Sadly more and more embassies hide or simply not mention direct access as they lack the capacity or funds for direct access and rather see applicants go by TLS or VFS (which costs the applicant a service fee and then has to deal with less experienced and less knowledable clerks, great isn't it?!).