WRITTEN QUESTION No. 338/98 by Graham MATHER to the Commission. Business impact assessment
Date: 1998-02-17
Institutions: European Parliament, MATHER
Subjects: EU publication, OECD, economic analysis, impact study, legislation, report, small and medium-sized enterprises

C 304/80

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

2. 10. 98

(98/C 304/118)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0338/98

by Graham Mather (PPE) to the Commission

(17 February 1998)

Subject: Business impact assessment

On 24 April 1997, the European Parliament passed a report on strengthening the business impact assessment
system  (A4-0413/96).  During  the  April  II  part-session  (1997),  Commissioner  Papoutsis  commented:  (cid:145)I  agree
with the general idea of the report and with the European Parliament(cid:146)s resolution ... I would like to assure you of
my determination to support a strengthening of the business impact assessment system.(cid:146) (PE 222.596).

In  May  1997,  OECD  ministers  endorsed  the  recommendations  in  the  OECD  Report  on  Regulatory  Reform.
These included that governments integrate Regulatory Impace Assessment (RIA) into the development, review
and  reform  of  regulations.  It  also  identified  ten  elements  of  (cid:145)best  practice(cid:146)  in  this  area:  maximize  political
commitment  to  RIA;  allocate  responsibilities  for  IRA  programme  elements  carefully;  train  regulators;  use  a
consistent but flexible analytical method; develop and implement data collection strategies; target RIA efforts;
integrate RIA into the policy-making process, starting as early as possible; communicate the results; involve the
public extensively; apply RIA to existing and new regulation.

Has the Commission taken account of the OECD best practice recommendations in its own on-going review; and
what is the Commission(cid:146)s assessment of its own performance in each of the ten areas identified?

(98/C 304/119)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0339/98

by Graham Mather (PPE) to the Commission

(17 February 1998)

Subject: Business impact assessment

On 24 April 1997, the European Parliament passed a report on strengthening the business impact assessment
system  (A4-0413/96).  During  the  April  II  part-session  (1997),  Commissioner  Papoutsis  commented:  (cid:145)I  agree
with the general idea of the report and with the European Parliament(cid:146)s resolution ... I would like to assure you of
my determination to support a strengthening of the business impact assessment system.(cid:146) (PE 222.596).

One  problem  that  has  frequently  been  cited  in  relation  to  implementing  best  practice  of  business  impact
assessment  in  the  Member  States  is  that  very  little  is  written  on  this  subject,  and  particularly  about  the
experiences of best practice countries, in many EU languages.

Has  the  Commission  investigated  the  extent  to  which  the  language  barrier  is  a  hindrance  to  extending  best
practice in this area; and does the Commission feel that action is necessary in this area?

Joint answer to Written Questions
E-0335/98, E-0336/98, E-0337/98, E-0338/98 and E-0339/98
given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission

(21 April 1998)

The Commission is committed to improving and strengthening its business impact assessment system (BIAS) as
part  of  its  consideration  of  legislative  proposals.  These  internal  Commission  working  procedures  along  with
comprehensive consultation with outside interests are part of the open and transparent Commission policy as
established by the guidelines on legislative policy announced by the Commission in January 1996.

While  it  does  not  envisage  producing  a  report  for  consideration  by  the  Council  and  the  Parliament,  the
Commission  has  recently  published  a  report  on  the  history  and  the  development  of  the  business  impact
assessment system along with a comprehensive collection of business impact assessments completed over the
last  few  years.  A  copy  of  this  report  is  being  sent  direct  to  the  Honourable  Member  and  to  the  Parliament(cid:146)s
secretariat. The Commission considers that an appropriate amount of analysis needs to be undertaken concerning
the regulatory impact of legislative proposals. If there is likely to be a significant impact on business then this