ir -it 
•it * COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 08 05.1996 
C()IVK%) 204 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
TO THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
SIMPLER LEGISLATION FOR THE INTERNAL MARKET (SLIM): A PILOT PROJECT 

1. There is a growing political consensus within the Union in favour of the 
simplification of legislation: over-complicated regulation carries a high economic 
cost, endangering the competitiveness of industry and its employment-creating 
potential. Divergent national regulations and inadequate Community measures could 
damage the functioning o\' the Internal Market. All regulation - whether at 
Community or national level - must be fully justified and proportionate to its 
objectives. This applies both to new legislative initiatives and to existing legislation, 
which should be monitored to ensure that it continues to be appropriate in changing 
economic, social and technological circumstances. The Commission has, in recent 
years, undertaken several initiatives with regard to the simplification of legislation. 
For instance, it submitted to the European Council of Brussels in December 1993 a 
substantial adjustment programme of existing legislation and has implemented the 
vast majority of actions put forward in this programme. The Commission has also 
reported to the European Council at its end-of-year meetings, most recently to the 
Madrid European Council in the report "Better Law-Making". Examples of 
simplification initiatives are given in Annex 1. 
2. While much progress has already been made, no effort can be spared to streamline 
the Community legislative framework for economic activity in the Union, whilst at 
the same time safeguarding the essential elements of the acquis communautaire and 
ensuring a high level of health and safety and protection of the environment and of 
consumers. The Commission's earlier initiatives provide an excellent basis on which 
to build a new, targeted approach to reviewing and simplifying legislation, in 
partnership with the Member States and with those affected by the legislation. The 
Commission has responded to the consensus among Internal Market Ministers at 
their informal meeting in Rome on 24 February 1996 in favour of launching a "pilot 
scheme" to assess how best to reduce the burden on business of single market rules 
in particular sectors. The exercise will provide a test-bed for more wide-ranging 
action. As the Molitor Group (which itself included several business representatives) 
emphasised, the business community must be at the forefront of the drive for 
simplification and should be consulted by the Commission. 
3. To meet this call for action, the Commission proposes to follow these "guiding 
principles", which are fully in line with the views expressed at the Rome meeting : 
1 : simplification should be targeted on a few sectors in order to demonstrate rapid and 
concrete progress; 
2: business and other interested parties should be contribute directly to the exercise; 
3: a progress report should be ready for consideration by the Council at the end of 
1996. 
A PRACTICAL WAY FORWARD 
Objectives of the pilot project 
4. This Communication describes the pilot project phase of this initiative. It aims at 
making, by November 1996. concrete suggestions about ways in which legislation in 
four areas could be simplified. This would include not only Community legislation as 
such but also any unharmonised national legislation affecting the sector concerned. 
3 
The degree of progress achieved in relation to these areas of legislation within the 
time available will be used as a basis for evaluating the success or failure of the 
working method outlined in this Communication. The Commission's intention is that 
the approach should be extended more widely when it has been successfully tested. 
Sectors to be examined in the pilot project 
5. The Commission has selected four sectors for a pilot project on simplification. 
Certain areas proposed at the informal meeting of Internal Market Ministers in Rome 
on 24 February have not been included because they are subject to imminent 
Commission proposals: 
foodstuffs: As indicated in the comments of the Commission on the report of 
the Molitor Group'', the Commission is working on a general reappraisal of the 
whole area of food law with a view to the presentation of a Green Paper which 
will cover, inter alia, the coherence of Community legislation and the scope for 
simplification and rationalisation of the legislation. The Commission has already 
adopted, on 17 April 1996, proposals for seven vertical Directives to simplify 
legislation on certain foodstuffs and consultation of interested groups on the 
simplification of veterinary legislation is under way; 
Machines: The Commission also indicated its work programme for this sector 
in its comments on the Molitor report: it will first propose a codification of the 
Machinery Directive in preparation for its revision. In parallel, it is working on 
appropriate amendments to be proposed at the end of 1997; 
Public Procurement: The Commission is preparing a Green Paper on the present 
and future operation of public procurement rules. 
The Commission considers that inclusion of these exercises, which are already well 
advanced, in the SLIM pilot project would duplicate work already undertaken and 
would not further speed up simplification in these areas. It has therefore considered 
how to add to the existing initiatives by focusing on other areas known to be of 
concern to business or other interested parties. 
The four sectors selected by the Commission are: 
Intrastat, the system for collecting statistics on intra-Community trade; 
Technical regulations on construction products; 
Legislation relating to the mutual recognition of diplomas. 
Legislation relating to ornamental plants. 
The pilot project will thus cover one area relevant to business as a whole, one relating 
to agricultural and one to industrial legislation, and an area of legislation which is of 
direct interest to individual citizens. 
'Comments of the Commission on the Report of the Independent Experts Group on Legislative and 
Administrative Simplification (SEC(95) 2121 final, 29.11.1995) 
Annex 2 outlines the aspects of legislation in each area which should be the object oi' 
particular attention. 
Methodology 
(i) Outline 
6. The work will be carried out by four small teams, each devoted to the examination of 
one of the chosen areas. These "SLIM" teams (Simpler Legislation for the Internal 
Market), will bring together the Commission and the representatives of a few 
Member States and of the users of the legislation, such as business (producers and 
traders, including SMLs) and , where appropriate, consumers. 
The task of each SLIM team is to contribute to the preparation of the report to the 
Council, in time for the November meeting of the Internal Market Council, which 
will: 
• summarise the need for simplification, including the identification of any national 
legislation which poses problems for users; 
• outline proposals considered by the SLIM teams and their likely effects in terms 
of meeting the objectives of the legislation while at the same time reducing costs 
for business and improving the effectiveness of implementation; 
• if appropriate, propose further detailed action; 
• report on progress being made on codification and related methods of 
simplification; and 
• evaluate the effectiveness of the approach adopted in the pilot project. 
(ii) Appointment of members of SLIM teams 
7. Each team will be chaired by a personally nominated Commission representative, 
with a strictly limited membership in equal proportion of representatives from 
Member State administrations and users of the legislation. Commission officials from 
interested departments will also attend as observers. 
Member State representation: In the interests of facilitating an efficient working 
atmosphere and rapid progress, the Commission will keep the teams small. This will 
be impossible to achieve if all Member States are to be represented on each team. 
The Commission therefore envisages limiting Member State representation to about 4 
persons in each team. It will therefore invite Member States to indicate the teams in 
which they are interested in participating in order of preference. They will then be 
invited to participate in one team. The Commission will invite Member States to 
make their views known to the teams in which they are not represented. There will 
also be regular reports to all Member States through the sectoral committees (see iii 
below) and the Internal Market Advisory Committee. 
5 
User representation: The number of user representatives appointed by the 
Commission will be the same as that oi' Member States. The Commission intends to 
approach European and, in some eases, national organisations representing user 
interests in order to identify user representatives. The appointment of business 
representatives will take account of the particular importance of simplification for 
SMEs. 
(iii) Keeping Sectoral Committees informed 
8. The relevant committee(s) responsible for Community legislation in each sector will 
be informed of the progress of the work of the relevant SLIM team. The committees 
concerned are as follows: 
Intrastat: Committee on the Statistics relating to the Trading of Goods 
between Member States; 
Statistical Programme Committee; 
Customs Code Committee - Tariff and Statistical Nomenclature 
Section. 
Construction products: Standing Committee for construction 
Committee 83/189 on technical rules 
Diplomas: Committee of Senior Officials responsible for public health; 
Ad-hoc Committees of senior officials responsible for veterinary 
surgeons and architects; 
Pharmaceutical Committee; 
the seven Advisory Committees on Education and Training 
attached to the seven sectoral Directives; 
the Coordinators' Group established by the general system 
Directives. 
Ornamental plants: Standing Committee for Propagating Material and 
Ornamental Plants 
CONCLUSION 
9. The Commission invites the Council and the European Parliament to support the 
initiative outlined in the present Communication and to examine constructively the 
conclusions of the report on the outcome of the pilot project which the Commission 
will present in November 1996. 
6 
Annex 1 
EXAMPLES OF SIMPLIFICATION WORK ALREADY COMPLETED OR JN 
PROGRESS 
OVERALL APPROACH 
For some time now, the Commission has been working to simplify Community legislation. 
In 1993 it presented a plan for streamlining existing legislation to the Brussels European 
Council and to the European Parliament; almost all the specific proposals based on that 
plan have now been adopted. The areas covered include: foodstuffs, the environment, 
taxation, mutual recognition of qualifications, competition and consumer protection. 
Simplification work will also be undertaken in fields not covered by the original plan. 
The issue of legislative and administrative simplification was also examined by a group of 
independent experts (the Molitor group) set up by the Commission, which presented an 
assessment of the group's initial proposals at the Cannes European Council in June 1995 
and its comments on all the group's proposals in November 1995. 
In addition, the Commission has set up a Committee on Improving and Simplifying the 
Business Environment which, with Member States and business organisations, examines 
how to simplify administrative procedures based on Community or national legislation 
which create barriers and excessive compliance costs, particularly for SMEs. Following a 
Forum in Paris in June 1995 and the establishment of working groups, Commission 
Recommendations to Member States on administrative simplification are likely. 
SPECIFIC CASES 
Simplification measures already presented: 
simplification of seven vertical Directives on foodstuffs; 
communication sent to the Council and to Parliament regarding Community policy 
on water; among other things, it envisages the presentation, during 1996, of a 
proposal for a framework Directive to replace all the existing Directives on water 
supplies; 
mutual recognition of qualifications: a Directive covering commerce and craft 
occupations, 
Community legislation on the rational use of energy and on petroleum products 
Simplification measures currently being prepared 
Green Paper on foodstuffs law; 
proposals for Directives on medicinal products for (i) veterinary use and (ii) 
human use; 
7 
simplification exercise with regard to veterinary hygiene; 
proposal for simplifying the Community rules on plant health, together with 
supplementary plant-health measures in view of the single market (procedures and 
resources for imports from third countries). 
Annex 2 
Aspects of the legislation requiring particular attention with a view to simplification 
INTRASTAT 
The INTRASTAT system is governed by a basic Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 
and by various Commission Regulations (in particular Regulation (EEC) No 3046/92 
laying down implementing provisions). 
Operational since 1993, INTRASTAT is still not producing results of sufficiently high 
quality as regards either overall trade or detailed data on specific goods, and the system is 
taking too long to compile statistics. 
Despite the numerous simplification measures taken, businesses (and particularly SMEs) 
providing data still regard the system as imposing an excessive burden. 
A survey conducted in February 1996 among the suppliers and users of INTRASTAT 
data, together with the seminar on the system held in Luxembourg on 13 and 14 March, 
confirmed that this was still the case and enabled various possible means of improvement 
and simplification to be identified. 
There was broad agreement on the need to continue the EDICOM measures undertaken 
to modernize and automate data collection and processing - particularly by making greater 
use of EDI, an indispensable means of making input easier and ensuring that the resulting 
statistics are more reliable and more up-to-date. 
The other measure advocated by a majority of firms and most suited to bringing about a 
significant improvement is simplifying the nomenclature for the classification of goods. 
The SLIM team should advise whether, as requirements for intra-Community trade data 
change in the run-up to monetary union, more fundamental alterations should be made to 
INTRASTAT such that, for example, a given Member State would have to record only 
one trade flow and could calculate the remainder from the corresponding data supplied by 
the other Member States. 
Since the differing needs of those supplying and those using the data (which were clearly 
brought out during the various consultations) make such radical changes difficult to 
implement, the basis for doing so has to be an unambiguous political resolve on the part of 
all Member States. 
The other measures envisaged are less wide-ranging, being designed instead to consolidate 
and improve current procedures. Such measures, which include reducing the 
number of variables required, bringing INTRASTAT response times into line with those 
for taxation, raising the thresholds and shortening the intervals, are being examined on a 
case-by-case basis and assessed in terms of how much they would improve quality and 
reduce the administrative burden. 
The assessment of the Member States' national systems carried out at the end oi" 1995 
resulted in a number of specific proposals for improving INTRASTAT (particularly as 
regards the procedures for aligning data, processing and monitoring, and harmonizing 
legal procedures and provisions), once these proposals have been examined, current 
legislation could be amended accordingly. 
Construction products 
The SLIM team should review the operation of the construction products Directive 
adopted in 1988. 
This Directive is the instrument for assuring a single market for all construction products. 
It relies on the adoption of European technical specifications - in particular standards -
which are a compulsory element to be taken into account for assessing the conformity of 
products and permitting CE marking. 
The Directive will only be effective once harmonised standards are adopted To date, none 
have been adopted. 
This situation arises from the fact that firstly, the Directive requires many decisions to be 
taken and other preparatory work to be done before standards can be adopted and, 
secondly, that there is no alternative basis for CE marking but conformity to these 
standards. 
In the framework of the debate on the report on the operation of the Directive in 1995, all 
parties acknowledged that commitments must be made to speeding up the operation of the 
Directive. In parallel, parties agreed to continue to deliberate on the functioning of the 
internal market in this sector. 
The SLIM team's contribution is therefore required on the improvement needed in the 
functioning of the internal market as well as on implementation of the Directive 
This reflection might, inter alia, tackle the long delays needed for CE marking of 
construction products and the increase in national measures taken by Member States in 
the meantime which disrupt the internal market. 
Mutual recognition of diplomas 
The SLIM team should review the structure and operation of the seven sectoral Directives 
governing doctors, nurses responsible for general care, veterinary surgeons, dental 
practitioners, midwives, architects and pharmacists, adopted between 1975 and 1985. 
With the exception of the Directive governing architects, these Directives lay down 
minimum common standards of education and training for the profession concerned and 
10 
contain lists of national diplomas which meet these common standards and as a 
consequence benefit from automatic mutual recognition For architects, the Directive lays 
down certain criteria which must be met in order for a diploma to benefit from mutual 
recognition; however, Member States may continue to award diplomas in the field of 
architecture which do not meet these criteria and, as a result, fall outside the scope of the 
recognition provided for in the Directive 
The sectoral approach, which creates a certain European profile for education and 
training, obliged many Member States to amend national legislation governing access to 
the professions concerned and in some cases (for example, dentists in Italy and Austria) it 
required the creation of a profession which had not previously existed. The sectoral 
Directives may also impede reform at national level, when the changes envisaged would 
render national rules incompatible with the relevant Directive. This was one of the reasons 
which led the Community to adopt a new approach to recognition of diplomas - the 
general system - which leaves to Member States the decisions as to the appropriate level 
and structure of education and training and the need for regulation. However, the general 
system, unlike the sectoral Directives, does not offer the migrant a guarantee of automatic 
recognition. 
In addition, the need to keep the agreed common rules on education and training under 
review resulted in the creation, for each sectoral Directive, of an Advisory Committee. 
These committees, which are currently composed of 45 members, place a considerable 
administrative burden on the Commission. They issue recommendations and opinions 
addressed to the Member States and also advise the Commission as to whether 
amendments to the Directives are necessary; in practice, few of their recommendations for 
changes to the Directives have met with the approval of the Member States. 
Ornamental plants 
The SLIM team should review the transparency and the operation of the ornamental 
plants Directive adopted in 1991 with a view to the single market. 
This Directive has harmonised different measures, established at national or regional 
levels, to set out minimum quality standards and conditions at Community level with 
supporting accreditation procedures and documentary evidence, and to ensure the free 
marketing of propagating material of ornamental plants complying with such standards 
and conditions 
Due to its hurried adoption at the end of 1991, there are various inconsistencies in the text 
which have given rise to problems of interpretation for Member States when transposing 
and implementing the legislation In an attempt to overcome these problems, the 
Commission issued an Interpretative Note to Member States in 1992 on those provisions 
which had caused most difficulty However, this was not sufficient to ensure rapid and 
uniform implementation by Member States 
In addition, one Member State wrote to the Commission asking it to review the Directive 
in certain areas in particular the scope, the exceptions for the local market, the exceptions 
for woody plants and the requirements relating to varieties. 
11 
Finally, due to the difficulties outlined above, the Commission has not been able to 
develop further implementing measures required by the Directive. 
The SLIM team's contribution is therefore required for an improvement of the Directive 
to permit speedy adoption by the Commission of the necessary implementing measures, as 
well as rapid and uniform implementation by Member States. 
Financial Statement 
1. TITLE OF OPERATION 
Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market (SLIM) Pilot Project (to be implemented by 
the establishment of four working groups to be known as "SLIM Teams"). 
2. BUDGET HEADING CONCERNED 
A 250: Meetings and convocations 
3. LEGAL BASIS 
Articles 3c, 7 A, 48-66, 100 A of the Treaty 
4. DESCRIPTION OF THE OPERATION : 
4.1 Objectives 
The Pilot Project aims at making, by November 1996, concrete suggestions about 
ways in which legislation in four areas could be simplified. These are 
INTRASTAT, construction products, mutual recognition of diplomas, and 
ornamental plants. The purpose of this simplification is to improve the 
competitiveness of business and its employment-creating potential by ensuring that 
over-complicated regulation at Community or national level does not impede its 
effective participation in the Single Market and to improve the effectiveness of the 
legislation on the mutual recognition of diplomas. 
4.2 Duration 
The SLIM teams will be appointed in June 1996 and will be required to contribute 
to a report which will be submitted to Council and Parliament in November 1990. 
5. CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE/REVENUE 
5.1 Non-compulsory expenditure 
5.2 Differentiated appropriations 
5.3 Nature of revenues: Not applicable 
6. NATURE EXPENDITURE/REVENUE 
6.1 Nature of expenditure 
Meeting expenses for the 32 members of the SUM teams (8 per team): 5 one-day 
meetings per team in Brussels. 
6.2 Revenues 
The pilot project is financed 100% by the Community budget 
7. FINANCIAL IMPACT ON THE OPERATIONAL APPROPRIATIONS 
None 
8. ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES 
The verification of the expenses claimed for attendance at meetings will be undertaken by 
the Commission service providing the secretariat for the SLIM team in question (Eurostat 
DG III, DG VI or DG XV). 
9. ELEMENTS OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS 
9.1. Specific quantifiable objectives, target population 
- The pilot project aims at making, by November 1996, concrete suggestions 
about ways in which legislation in four areas could be simplified. This would 
include not only Community legislation as such but also any unharmonised 
national legislation affecting the sector concerned. The degree of progress 
achieved in relation to these areas of legislation within the time available will 
be used as a basis for evaluating the success or failure of the working method 
outlined in this Communication. 
- Target population : The pilot project is targeted on the needs of businesses and 
professional people throughout the Community for clear, simple and 
proportionate regulation that allows them to exercise their Single Market rights 
without unnecessary restrictions or excessive expense. Small and medium-
sized enterprises are particularly affected by compliance costs. 
9.2. Grounds for the operation 
9.2.1 Need for the budgetary intervention of the Community 
The pilot project is designed to improve the operation of the single market 
bv simplifying and improving some of the rules which govern it. The 
economic benefits to be expected from such simplification more than justify 
the intervention proposed. 
This action is to be seen in the light of the Commission's other activities 
with regard to the simplification and codification of legislation (see the 
report to the European Council of December 1995, "Better Law-Making"). 
9.2.2 Choice of the method of intervention 
The choice of the "SLIM team" approach, which will bring together the 
Commission, a small number of Member States and representatives of 
those affected by the legislation in small working groups is dictated by the 
need to bring together the different perspectives oï those involved with 
enforcing the legislation and those affected by it. The teams are deliberately 
small in order to facilitate a genuine exchange of views which may be more 
difficult in larger and more formal groups and in to facilitate rapid progress. 
9.2.3 Main factors of uncertainty which could affect the specific 
results of the operation 
Given that the exercise is a pilot project, there is inevitably a degree of 
uncertainty as to the possibility of achieving the expected results. The size 
of the groups, the choice of members, the sectors chosen and the deadline 
imposed are all factors that may influence the outcome. 
/)• 
9.3 Monitoring and evaluation of the operation 
9.3.1 Performance indicators 
See 9.3.2 
9.3.2 Methods and frequency of the evaluation foreseen 
Progress will be reported periodically to a Group of Commissioners, as 
decide by the Commission on 27 March 1996. 
Progress will also be reported to the Internal Market Advisory Committee 
and to the sectoral committees concerned 
Within the Commission, the services responsible for the different SLIM 
teams and other interested services concerned will meet to review progress 
and compare experiences in the operation of the pilot project. 
A report on the pilot project will be submitted to the Internal Market 
Council in November and the European Council will also be informed of 
the results obtained. 
9.3.3 Assessment of the results obtained 
The results obtained will be the subject of a report to the Council, as 
mentioned above. This report will contain the suggestions of the SLIM 
teams for simplifying the legislation in question and an evaluation, based on 
the views of the teams themselves and the interested Commission services, 
of the value of the exercise. The report itself will be discussed with the 
Member States The key element in the evaluation of the pilot project will 
be the degree to which it has been possible to arrive at concrete proposals 
on simplification in the lour sectors. 
9.4 Coherence with financial programming 
The pilot project, which results largely from a discussion at the Informal 
Internal Market Council of 24 February' 1996, is not included in the 
financial planning of the services by which it will be cofinanced (DG XV. 
DG III, DG VI, Eurostat). 
10. ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE (PART A OF THE BUDGET) 
The resources will be found within the overall envelope which the Commission attributed to the 
services responsible for each of the sectors concerned in its decision on the allocation of resources 
for 1996. i.e., DG III (construction products). DG VI (ornamental plants), DG XV (diplomas). 
Statistical Office (Intrastat). 
10.1 Impact on the luimbers_ejnp_loyed 
None. 
10.2 Ovcra 11 fin a nc i a] i nipa et JlfAl ) C a d d i t ional human resources 
None. 
10.3 Increase in other administrative expenditure arising from the operation 
The total expenses for the 4 SLIM teams come to 120.000 ecus. 
All expenses relate to A 250 - Meetings and convocations. They will be shared by the 
four responsible services indicated above, each service covering the expenses of the 
SLIM Team for its area of responsibility. 
The cost has been estimated as follows: 
4 SLIM Teams x 5 one-day meetings = 20 meetings 
20x4 government experts = 20x4x695ecus (average cost) = 55.600 ecus 
20x4 private experts = 20x4x804 ecus (average cost) = 64.320 ecus 
TOTAL: 119.920, say 120.000 ecus 

ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(96) 204 final 
DOCUMENTS 
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Catalogue number : CB-CO-96-222-EN-C 
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