COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 27.05.1998 
COM(1998) 345 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
LEGISLATE LESS TO ACT BETTER: 
THE FACTS 

LEGISLATE LESS TO AC I BE IT ER: IHE FACTS 
I) Legislate less to act better", the motto of the present Commission 
What is meant by 'legislate less to act better"? 
- Legislate less the Commission targets its initiatives, concentrating on 
political priorities Its ambitious proposals have been the driving force behind 
the recent major developments in the European Union In performing its role 
the Commission applies strictly the principles of subsidiarity and 
proportionality, it is producing fewer proposals overall and proposals for new 
legislation in particular At the same time the number of Community 
instruments in force is increasing only slightly, 
- Act better improved consultation procedures, clearer, simpler and more 
accessible legislation For the Commission this also means acting in a 
different way, in order to be more efficient in its role in a changing Europe. 
800 
700 
600 
500 
400 
300 
200 
100 
0 TOTAL COMMISSION 
PROPOSALS 1 
H il 
u 70 
60 
50 
40 
30 
20 
10 
0 COMMISSION PROPOSALS 
FOR NEW LEGISLATION 
m 
o 1^ 
What is the purpose7 
- To enhance Europe's image in the eyes of the public, to improve the 
operation of the single market, to strengthen the competitiveness of firms, to 
manage the European Union on a sounder basis 
2) Subsidiarity/proportionality 
a) Results 
The Commission can be said to have achieved something in the application of the 
principles of subsidiarity and proportionality since the Edinburgh European Council. 
These achievements went far beyond simply reducing the number of proposals; the 
following should also be borne in mind 
As well as proposals for new legislation. Commission proposals also cover implementing 
measures, eonlimtation of action already started, revision of existing legislation and 
matters concerning international relations 
I 
- use of all kinds of alternatives to 
legislation, such as agreements 
negotiated with industry, self-
regulation (agreements between the 
social partners under the social 
protocol ), 
- review of pending proposals each 
year proposals which are no longer 
necessary are withdrawn, and this 
includes some on the grounds of 
subsidiarity (61 m IWS, 48 in 1996 
and 34 in 1997), APPLICATION OF ARTICLE 3b 
AFTER 
Protocol 
subsidiarity 
Treaty itt tfj^ 
Mainasp^$:r tbe Amstcwto Tr««t>', 
- use of framework directives rather than more detailed directives, 
- improvement of impact assessment criteria for ils proposals eg the Auto-oil 
package With the start this year of the pilot phase of the lùiropean business test 
panel, it will be possible to assess the cost and administrative consequences for 
businesses, in particular small businesses, of new legislation proposed; 
- wide-ranging and open dialogue with interested parties, in particular industry, social 
partners, government departments, so that all views can be taken into account. This 
can be done either informally (meetings, discussion forums, conferences) or more 
formally in the shape of green and white papers which are being targeted more 
carefully and made more uniform, or in advisory committees. 
20 
15 
10 
b 
0 NUMBER OF GREEN AND 
WHITE PAPERS 
•* in (o r-~ o 5? Q> 5> (T) o> O) O) m ( hvon papers ! 
i 
Q While papers ! 
Six agreements (on the environment and energy) arc currently being negotiated and will be 
finalised shortly: reduction of CO, emissions for private cars, energy efficiency for 
television sets, washing machines, reduction ol the environmental impact of household 
detergents, monitoring of perfluoro-carbons. development of paper recycling, reduction of 
hazards associated with the use of stripping, agents 
There have been two agreements of this type, one on parental leave and the other on 
part-time work The first was enshrined in Directive 96/34/RC. and the second in 
Directive 87/»I/l'C 
This is a package of measures on emission reduction, which, following consultations with 
the firms concerned, constitutes the best cost-effectiveness relationship for achieving 
certain air-quality objectives (COM(96) 21», transmitted on 29 August 1996). 
Commission communication Ihe business test panel: a pilot project COM(1998) 197, 
transmitted on M) March 199». 
For example, some 20 000 non-government experts attend meetings with the Commission 
every year 
> 
h) Outlook 
The Commission is determined to give effect to the Protocol on the application of the 
principles of subsidiarity and proportionality even before the Amsterdam Treaty is 
ratified It is currently amending its (ienemlguidelines for legislative policy and will, 
in this connection, ensure in particular that the provisions governing impact 
assessments are complied with At the same time the Commission would urge the 
other institutions to pay more attention to the principles of subsidiarity and 
proportionality, as already provided in the 1903 Interinstitutional Agreement 
3) Drafting quality 
Community legislation needs to be worded 
clearly, consistently and unambiguously, 
following uniform principles of presentation 
and legal drafting, so that it will be easier to 
implement by national authorities and easier 
to understand for economic operators and 
the general public This is made all the more 
important by the multilingual nature of 
Community legislation (each year the 
Commission has to have over M) 000 pages 
translated into the eleven Community 
languages) which can cause differences in 
interpretation 
a) Achievements 
In recent years the three institutions have each adopted measures of their own These 
measures have not yet achieved the desired objectives 
b) Outlook 
RfTorts need to be coordinated This was why Declaration No .19 annexed lo the final 
acl of the Amsterdam Treaty called on the institutions lo lay down guidelines on the 
quality of drafting and lo follow those guidelines in the various stages oi% the 
decision-making process The legal services oi' the three institutions are working 
together and before the summer recess will produce draft guidelines The 
Commission attaches a great deal of importance to this objective 
In 1996 the Commission adopted the iieneral guidelines for legislative policy (Bull. 
1/2-1996. point I 10 II) and in 1997 it updated its Legislative drafting manual to guide 
Commission departments when drafting legal instruments. The Council adopted a 
resolution on X June 1993 on the quality of drafting of Community legislation (OJ C 166, 
17.6.1993). Parliament set up a group of lawyer-revisers in 1997 to check the drafting 
quality of instruments covered by the codecision procedure. 
3 
4) Simplification 
The Community system is by nature complex, if only because of the differences in 
legal culture and the technicality of the matters dealt with. Simplification does, 
however, remain an objective to be aimed for 
a) Achievements 
The most spectacular result in 
terms of simplification has 
already been achieved by the 
establishment of the single 
market, with the replacement of 
a great many individual and 
occasionally conflicting national 
measures SiMPLifTCATHQHMBASMffiS Wm SfflÇSIUE 
EDiNBVRQw mmm rn^rnt 
Specific Comm, 
instruments 
But Community legislation can, in its turn, be slimmed down The Commission has 
proposed the simplification of entire rafts of Community legislation, with a total of 
61 proposals at I March 
Some large-scale initiatives have a knock-on effect in terms of simplification 
However, 22 of these proposals still have to be adopted by the Council and 
Parliament The SLIM pilot project (simplifying legislation relating to the internal 
market), which is based on the work of groups made up of representatives of the 
Member States, users of the legislation (firms, consumers) and Commission 
departments, is now producing concrete results: four simplification proposals have 
been presented under the first phase (two concerning statistics,8 one ornamental 
plants and one recognition of qualifications ) 
PHASE I; , ,:., 
lntxastat, construction products, recoj 
qualifications» ornamental plan»; 
FHMBH? VAT, combine 
trade, banking nomenclature 
ices, fertilisers; 
PHASmiL 
electromagnetic compatibility, 
social security schemes, insurance. 
COM (97) 275 mid COM (97) 252 transmitted on 4 June 1997 and 2 June 1997 
respectively 
COM (97) 708 transmitted on 17 December 1997 
COM (97) 618 transmitted on 3 December 1997 
4 
In connection with the implementation of Agenda 2000 in agriculture, a number of 
simplification proposals were presented last March. 
b) Outlook 
In 1998 the Commission will be presenting proposals under the second phase of 
SLIM to follow up the recommendations made by the working parties It has 
extended the SLIM initiative to electromagnetic compatibility, the coordination of 
social security schemes and insurance (third phase), and a fourth phase will start in 
the first half of 1998 But the SLIM proposals still need to be adopted by Parliament 
and the Council in this connection recent experience has shown that the desire to 
simplify, repeatedly expressed by European Ministers, is sometimes at odds with their 
attitude to simplification proposals on the table For example, the solution found in 
17 
the Council (internal market) for the Inlrastal proposal in no way matched up to the 
simplification objective originally set 
The Business Environment Simplification Task Force (BF.ST), which the 
Commission set up to identify the factors acting as a legislative or administrative 
brake on small businesses has just presented a report This highlights the need to 
persuade all levels of public authorities to place the "better lawmaking" principles at 
the heart of their political strategy It recommends that Member States consider the 
appropriate means of meeting these objectives 
SOME BEST RECOMMENDS 
- simplify administrative procedures; 
- féf&fy best practices; 
- èet up best regulation|Units; 
- aydlâ "gold plating" o£ Community lcj 
of agonal rules connected with the im 
Cûrçjfflmity directives^ 
-"#û%jc small first" Û 
The reform of the common agricultural policy in connection with Agenda 2000 will 
involve new slimming-down proposals, in particular with a view to a radical 
simplification of regulations in the vine-growing sector, regarded as the most 
voluminous and complicated of all the agricultural regulations 
Concerning arable crops, beet, milk (COM(l998) 158), and rural policies 
(COM(l998) 175) 
COM(97) 252 Una I 
Report of the Husiness Fnvironmcnt Simplification Task Force (volume 1), Office for 
Official Publications of the Furopean Communities, May 1998. 
5 
5) Formal consolidation, recasting, informal 
consolidation14 
Formal consolidation and recasting involve repealing earlier instruments. Informal 
consolidation is purely for information purposes and involves no change in 
Community law. 
a) Achievements 
The Commission is continuing to present formal consolidation proposals despite the 
difficulties which exist (number of languages, legislation constantly changing). 
However, adoption by the Council and Parliament is not advancing at the same pace. 
FORMAL CONSOLIDATION 
WORK SINCE DECEMBER 1992 
(situation at 15.03.1998) 
30 
25 
20 
15 
10 
5 
0 
I Formal consolidation in pipeline (1998-2000) 
I Ftoposals before Fferliament and the Council 
l Formal consolidation instruments adopted by the 
legislative autority INFORMAL CONSOLIDATION 
WORK 
1995 1996 1997 
I Informal consolidation completed 
I Number of instruments involved : basic 
instruments & amendments J 
Jan-
April 
1998 
In parallel with the task of formal consolidation, the Commission is still involved in 
its informal consolidation exercise in order to meet specific requirements of 
operators and all users of Community law. From 1995 to March 1998 over 
384 informal consolidation exercises have been completed, involving the merging of 
some 2 800 instruments, each in nine or eleven language versions. Most of these 
texts are gradually being made accessible free of charge on the Internet, 
European Union's Europa server. 
b) Outlook 15 via the 
The Commission intends to continue the progress already made in formal 
consolidation and has already identified the sectors where a special effort will be 
required over the period 1998-2000. It would also like to see early agreement 
between the institutions on recasting, a method which ensures constant clarity of 
legislation. It remains determined to keep up the pace of informal consolidation. 
See definitions in the Better Lawmaking 1997 report, COM(97)626 transmitted on 
26 November 1997 
http://europa.eu.int 
6 
6) Access to information 
a) Achievements 
The Commission is aware of the immense potential offered by new technology to 
facilitate access to information and will do its utmost to make full use of this 
technology. Europa,16 the joint server of the European institutions, already offers 
access to a wide range of legal instruments and information. 
NUMBER OF CONSULTATIONS ON THE 
EUROPA SERVER 
30000000 
25000000 
20000000 
15000000 
10000000 
5000000 
S fc; N S °? °? °[> O) 
C -Q i »!-
-» LL 2 < (0 
2 O) 
c 
—> O) 
3 -> at 
< a. a> O) 
O cr> q> > o 
z 3 SS 
« 
For example, it is now possible to consult recent judgments of the Court of Justice 
and Community legislation in force (C and L Series of the Official Journal) via EUR-
Lex The Citizens First campaign informs the public about their rights, in particular 
within the single market. 
These initiatives are an undoubted success, as can be shown by the increase in the 
number of calls on the Europa server. In the first week after the Commission's 
recommendation on the list of countries qualifying for EMU and its convergence 
report (25 March 1998) were made available on the Internet, the documents were 
downloaded over 40 000 times 
b) Outlook 
The Commission has a host of new projects on the stocks. In view of the success of 
the Citizens first operation, a permanent structure will be set up, via the Internet and 
freephone numbers, to conduct a dialogue with the public and businesses to inform 
them of their rights. This "dialogue" has just been initiated in accordance with the 
provisions of the action plan for the single market. In order to improve the 
information and support service for small businesses, the Euro-Info-Centre networks 
will be reinforced: a freephone number is already operational for this purpose in ail 
the Member States. 
Address above. 
7) Transposai 
The Commission spares no effort in seeing that legislation is properly transposed in 
the Member States (despatch of Article 169 letters every two months, constant 
contacts with national authorities). Although the performances of individual Member 
States differ, these efforts have produced a rise in the percentage of directives for 
which Member States have informed the Commission of national implementing 
measures. The average figure at 31 December 1997 was 94%. 
AVERAGE RATE OF 
TRANSPOSAL OF DIRECTIVES 
100 
99 
98 
97 
96 
95 
94 
93 
92 
91 BREAKDOWN BY MEMBER STATE OF THE 
RATE OF TRANSPOSAL OF DIRECTIVES 
"O F £ 
î ai a> Oi a E a> z c = to E? "2 « p m » >* E 
1 W !i J 8 § t ' -» 
u- < E - "- • £ 0 m 
In the internal market, in particular, the action plan for the single market produced a 
distinct improvement in the transposai of directives. 
Internal market : average rate of 
tranposal of directives following the 
adoption of the action plan for the 
single market (June 1997) 
96,00% 
95,50% 
95,00% 
94,50% 
94,00% 
Jun-97 May-98 
8) Shared responsibility 
"Better lawmaking" is one of the keys to more effective management of European 
integration, to a Europe closer to the citizen, and to a renewed spirit of initiative and 
enterprise, as was confirmed by the "Better government, more effective regulation" 
conference organised by the UK Government last March. 
8 
Substantial progress has already been made by the Commission. The process must 
therefore be continued and stepped up The other institutions cannot shirk their share 
of responsibility. They need to be far more discriminating when they ask the 
Commission to present proposals and avoid making proposals more complex. The 
principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and the need for simplicity must always 
be taken into account. The following cases are worth considering: 
- zoos: acting on the principle of subsidiarity and at the request of the Edinburgh 
17 
European Council, the Commission replaced its proposed directive by a proposal 
for a recommendation Parliament insisted on a directive. The Council 
(environment) has again considered the possibility of adopting a directive; 
- animal welfare: at the request of the Council (agriculture), the Commission has 
presented a number of proposals on animal welfare. The Council has not confined 
itself to the essential but has expanded the arrangements proposed by the 
Commission, adding points for which there is not necessarily any justification in 
terms of subsidiarity and proportionality (e.g. minimum and maximum 
temperatures in vehicles carrying animals).19 Similar additions are also envisaged 
on the animal welfare proposals for stock farming, where Member States' requests 
go far beyond the Council of Europe recommendations on which the Commission 
based its proposals; 
- foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional uses: in accordance with 
Directive 89/398/EEC, the Commission was to propose the adoption of specific 
directives for nine categories of foodstuff intended for particular nutritional uses. 
At the request of the Edinburgh European Council, the Commission proposed in 
1994 that the number of directives be limited to four.21 The deliberations of 
Parliament and the Council have produced a return to the nine areas of legislation 
22 ' 
initially envisaged, 
- technical rules: the Council common position on the proposal for a third 
amendment of Directive 83/189 contains some far more complex formulas than the 
initial proposal: in particular the Council has changed two definitions of a few 
lines into a very lengthy text (see Annex). 
19 
22 C0M(91) 177. 
COM(95)619. 
Council Regulation (EC) No 411/98 on additional animal protection standards applicable 
to road vehicles used for the carriage of livestock on journeys exceeding eight hours, 
OJL 52, 21.2.1998. 
OJL 186,30.6.1989 
COM(94) 97 transmitted on 28 March 1994. 
The common position (OJ C 297, 29.9.1997) provides for the adoption of specific 
directives in six areas (actually covering seven of the original areas) and requests that 
additional provisions be laid down for gluten-based and sodium-based foodstuffs. 
Council common position (EC) No 11/98 with a view to adopting a European Parliament 
and Council Directive substantively amending for the third time Directive 83/189/EEC 
laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the field of technical standards 
and regulations, OJ C 62, 26.2.1998. 
9 
9) Production of national legislation: no sign of a let-up 
The Member States continued to be the main producers of legislation and hence the 
most direct cause of the burden on firms. For instance, application of 
Directive 83/18924 laying down a procedure for the provision of information in the 
technical standards and regulations has resulted in an increase in national regulations 
on products in the single market which exceed by far, in number, volume and 
complexity, measures adopted at Community level. What is more, many of these 
instruments may be in breach of Community law. 
Number of draft technical rules notified by Member 
States and possible infrigements 
670* 
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 
I Notifications (these figures do not include notifications of transposai measures) 
i Commission opinions on drafts w hic h may constitute an infringement of Community law 
These figures do not include the 230 notifications from the Netherlands follow ing the 
judgment of the Court of Justice in CIA Securitel (1996) 
Breakdown by Member State of draft technical 
rules notified in 1997 
120 
100 
80 
60 
40 
20 
M Council Directive 83/ 189/EEC, OJ L 109, 26.4.1983, as amended by 
Directive 88/182/EEC. OJ L 81, 26.3.1998 and Directive 94/10/EEC, OJ L 100, 19.4.1994 
10 
It is therefore of fundamental importance that the Member States too should embark 
on additional measures to reduce the mass of legislation so that the slimming-down 
objective being pursued at Community level will be fully achieved. 
II 
Commission proposal 
Service "any service 
provided at a distance, by 
electronic means and on 
the individual request of a 
service receiver". DEFINITION OF SERVICE 
Council common position 
Service: "any Information Society service, that is to say any service normally provided for remuneration, at a distance, by electronic means and at the 
indhidual request of a recipient of services. 
For the purposes of this definition: 
- "at a distance " means services provided without the parties being simultaneously present, 
- "by electronic means " means that the service is sent initially and received at its destination by means of electronic equipment for the processing 
(including digital compression) and storage of data, and entirely transmitted, conveyed and received by wire, by radio, by optical means or by other 
electromagnetic means, 
- "at the individual request of a recipient ofsen'ices" means the sendees provided through the transmission of data on individual request. 
An indicative list of services not covered by this definition is set out in Annex III. 
This Directive shall not apply to: 
- radio broadcasting sen-ices, 
- television broadcasting sen-ices covered by point fa) of Article 1 of Directive 89 552'EEC. 
Annex HI 
Services not covered by Article 1 
1. Services not provided "at a distance" 
Services provided in the physical presence of the provider and the recipient, even if they involve the use of electronic devices: 
- medical examinations or treatment at a doctor's surgery using electronic equipment where the patient is physically present, 
- consultation of an electronic catalogue in a shop with the customer on site, 
- plane ticket reservation at a travel agency in the physical presence of the customer by means of a network of computers, 
- electronic games made available in a video-arcade where the customer is physically present. 
2. Services not provided "by electronic means": 
Services having material content even though provided via electronic devices: 
- automatic cash or ticket dispensing machines (banknotes, rail tickets); 
- access to road networks, car parks, etc., charging for use, even if there are electronic devices at the entrance/exit controlling access and/or ensuring 
correct payment is made, 
• "off-line" services: distribution of CD-ROMs or software on diskettes, 
12 
Commission proposal 
rule on services: "a 
requirement relating to 
the taking-up and pursuit 
of service activities within 
the meaning of point 2 of 
this article, and in 
particular provisions 
concerning the service 
provider, services and the 
service receiver, to the 
exclusion of any rules that 
are not specifically aimed 
at the service defined 
within this same point". Services which are not provided via electronic processing/inventory systems: 
- voice telephony services. 
- fax/telex services. 
- telephone/fax consultation of a doctor. 
- telephone/fax consultation of a lawyer. 
- telephone/fax direct marketing. 
3. Services not supplied "at the individual request of a recipient of services": 
services provided by transmitting data without individual demand for simultaneous reception by an unlimited number of individual receivers (point to 
multi-point transmission): 
(including near-video-on-demand services), covered by point (a) of Article 1 of Directive 89/552/EEC, television broadcasting services 
- radio broadcasting services. 
- (televised) teletext. 
DEFINITION OF THE RULES ON SERVICES 
Council common position 
rule on services, "a requirement of a general nature relating to the taking-up and pursuit of service activities within the meaning of point 2, in 
particular provisions concerning the service provider, the sennces and the recipient of services, excluding any rules which are not specifically aimed at 
the senices defined in that point. 
This directive shall not apply to rules relating to matters which are covered by Community legislation in the field of telecommunications services, as 
defined by Directive 90 387 EEC as amended. 
This directive shall not apply to rules relating to matters which are covered by Community legislation in the field of financial services, as listed 
non-exhaustive ly in Annex IV to this directive. 
For the purposes of this definition: 
- a rule shall be considered to be specifically aimed at information society services where, having regard to its statement of reasons and its operative 
parts, the specific aim and objective of some or all of its individual provisions is to regulate such services in an explicit and targeted manner; 
- a rule shall not be considered to be specifically aimed at information society services if it affects such services only in an implicit or incidental 
manner ". 
Annex IV 
Financial services referred to in Article 1 
- investment services, 
13 
- insurance and re-insurance operations, 
- banking services, 
- operations relating to pension funds, 
- services relating to dealings in futures or options. 
Such services include in particular: 
- investment services referred to in the annex to Directive 93/22/EEC. services of collective investment undertakings. 
- services covered by the activities subject to mutual recognition referred to in the annex to Directive 89/646/EEC 
- operations covered by the insurance and re-insurance activities referred to in: 
- Article 1 of Directive 73/239/EEC, 
- the annex to Directive 79/267/EEC, 
- Directive 64/225/EEC, 
- Directives 92/49/EEC and 92/96/EEC. 
14 

ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(98) 345 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 05 10 16 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-98-367-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-36983-7 
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