Mr President, better legislation is high on the European agenda. Legislation must improve and become more transparent, and that is a task for the Commission, Parliament and Member States alike. I believe that the interinstitutional agreement concluded in June is a sign that the Commission, Parliament and the Council are aware of this responsibility. Better legislation is essential for an internal market that functions at its best. Only if citizens and businesses are fully aware of their rights and duties can the internal market function well. European legislation must be readable and not cause any unnecessary red tape. If we as Europe want to become the world's most competitive economy, then we need to ensure at the very least that we can leave behind the unnecessary bureaucracy. It is therefore very gratifying that in 2002, the Commission published a whole series of documents that examine the possibilities of better legislation, but it is important that both the Council and Parliament should remain actively involved in achieving it. Improvements in legislation call for very concrete measures, and so I regret the somewhat vague wording in which the Commission has postulated its policy to improve European legislation. If the European Union does not want to be constantly faced with the need for improving its legislation, it is important for Community law to be given a thorough overhaul from here on in, to ensure that qualitatively sound legislation is introduced. A crucial element in the establishment of better legislation is the analysis of legislation for the financial and administrative implications by means of an impact assessment. Citizens and businesses are still being weighed down by a much too heavy administrative burden. We in the Group of the European People’s Party have called for the introduction of the business impact assessment for a long time. It is, however, important for this impact assessment to be carried out by an independent body. The impact assessment proposed by the Commission, which is to be carried out by the same officials who drafted the legislation, has already prompted me to refer to Baron von Münchhausen, who tried to drag himself out of the swamp by his own hair. As rapporteur for the European impact assessment, I will also certainly opt for an approach that tends towards an independent assessment. As well as establishing better legislation, it is at least equally important to determine the alternatives to legislation. Reducing the administrative burden also means placing more emphasis on the use of non-legislative instruments, such as agreements with social partners and self-regulating mechanisms. It is my conviction that these regulations have an important complementary character with regard to existing Community legislation. Apart from carefully examining alternatives for European legislation, it is also important for the implementation of legislation and national legislation by the Member States to be carried out more effectively and monitored closely. One remark to finish off; after this plenary debate, the Medina-Ortega Report will be referred back to the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market, where it will be adapted to the interinstitutional agreement. I unreservedly endorse this course of action.

Political group: PPE-DE