European Parliament resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on a review of SLIM: Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market (COM(2000) 104 — C5-0209/2000 — 2000/2115(COS))
Date: 2001-01-16
Institutions: Committee on Legal Affairs, European Parliament
Subjects: EU initiative, EU law, administrative formalities, legislation

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 262/45

Tuesday 16 January 2001

(cid:1) having regard to Article 251(2) of the EC Treaty,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 78 of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the recommendation for second reading of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Educa-

tion, the Media and Sport (A5-0375/2000),

1.

2.

Approves the common position;

Notes that the act is adopted in accordance with the common position;

Instructs its President to sign the act with the President of the Council pursuant to Article 254(1) of

3.
the EC Treaty;

Instructs its Secretary-General duly to sign the act and, in agreement with the Secretary-General of

4.
the Council, to have it published in the Official Journal of the European Communities;

5.

Instructs its President to forward its position to the Council and Commission.

4. Simpler legislation for the internal market (SLIM)

A5-0351/2000

European Parliament resolution on the communication from the Commission to the Council and
the European Parliament on a review of SLIM: Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market
(COM(2000) 104 * C5-0209/2000 * 2000/2115(COS))

The European Parliament,

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission communication (COM(2000) 104 (cid:1) C5-0209/2000),

(cid:1) having regard to the report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on
SLIM: results of the third phase of SLIM and follow-up of the implementation of the recommendations
of the first and second phases (COM(1999) 88),

(cid:1) having regard to the report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on

SLIM: results of the fourth phase of SLIM (COM(2000) 56),

(cid:1) having regard to the working document of the Commission on background information on the SLIM

procedure (SEC(2000) 336),

(cid:1) having regard to its resolution of 20 February 1998 (1) on the communication from the Commission
to the Council and the European Parliament on Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market (SLIM):
results of the second phase and the follow-up of the implementation of the first-phase recommenda-
tions (COM(1997) 618 (cid:1) C4-0660/1997),

(cid:1) having regard to the Commission’s ‘Action programme for the Internal Market’ of 9 June 1997 (CSE/

1997/0001 (cid:1) COM(1997) 184),

(cid:1) having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the Report of the Commi-

ssion on the SLIM Pilot Project (cid:1) Simpler rules for the Internal Market (2),

(cid:1) having regard to Declaration No 39 annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam on the quality of the draft-

ing of Community legislation,

(1) OJ C 80, 16.3.1998, p. 292.
(2) OJ C 206, 7.7.1997, p. 14.

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(cid:1) having regard to the Treaty of Amsterdam, and in particular Protocol No 7 thereof on application of

the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality,

(cid:1) having regard to Rule 47(1) of its Rules of Procedure,

(cid:1) having regard to the report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and the Internal Market and the opi-

nion of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A5-0351/2000),

A. having regard to the great importance which should be attached to improving the quality of legisla-
tion in the European Union, as recognised by Parliament in its resolutions of 4 July 1996 (1) on the
report of the group of independent experts on simplification of Community legislation and adminis-
trative provisions (‘Deregulation’) (COM(1995) 288 (cid:1) C4-0255/1995 (cid:1) SEC(1995) 1379), 10 April
1997 (2) on the communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament
‘Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market (SLIM): a pilot project’ (COM(1996) 204 (cid:1) C4-0446/
1996, 18 December 1998 (3) on the Commission’s report to the European Council (cid:1) ‘Better lawmak-
ing 1997’ (COM(1997) 626 (cid:1) C4-0656/1997) and 13 April 2000 (4) on the communication from the
Commission to the European Parliament and the Council: The strategy for Europe’s internal market
(COM(1999) 464 (cid:1) C5-0212/1999 (cid:1) 1999/2167(COS),

B. whereas research shows that 4-6 % of the gross domestic product of the Member States of the Euro-

pean Union is wasted on unnecessary administrative burdens on business enterprises,

C. whereas good quality, transparent and clear rules are of importance for the functioning of the internal
market and for the competitive position of European businesses, and whereas they make for employ-
ment,

D. whereas the Commission has recently completed the third and fourth phases of SLIM, in which rules
for co-ordinating social security schemes, the directive for electromagnetic compatibility, insurance
legislation, company law, rules on dangerous substances and rules on pre-packaging were examined,

E. whereas the evaluation report drawn up by the Commission on the SLIM exercise as a whole shows
that the Commission is satisfied with the results of the SLIM project hitherto but wants to make
improvements in a number of areas,

F. whereas SLIM needs to become more effective given that only fourteen areas of legislation have been
examined since 1996 and given that the evaluation shows that too great a period of time elapses
between the publication of the SLIM teams’ conclusions and implementation of these conclusions by
the Commission in specific (legislative) proposals,

G. whereas it is very important to improve coordination of the various initiatives of the Commission in

the field of legislation,

H. whereas the impact of legislation can depend on the manner in which Member States implement EU

legislation and also the speed with which legislation is transposed into national law,

I. whereas the impact of legislation also depends on how Member States enforce the legislation; whereas
the three stages of formulation, implementation and enforcement of legislation cannot be divorced
from one another,

J. whereas it is important to chart the initiatives of the Member States with regard to simplifying and
improving the quality of legislation and its enforcement, so that the Commission and the Member
States can learn from each other,

(1) OJ C 211, 22.7.1996, p. 23.
(2) OJ C 132, 28.4.1997, p. 213.
(3) OJ C 98, 9.4.1999, p. 500.
(4)
‘Texts Adopted’, Item 24.

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Calls on the Commission to translate the third and fourth phase SLIM proposals into specific legisla-

1.
tive proposals as rapidly and as efficiently as possible;

Tuesday 16 January 2001

2.

Declares its willingness to consider the SLIM proposals rapidly and efficiently;

3.

Hopes that the Council will follow this example;

Notes with approval the Commission’s conclusions so far from the evaluation of the SLIM exercise,

4.
but points out that:

(cid:1) the intention to set up a special group within the Advisory Committee may be useful, provided it does
not result in delays or is not to the detriment of the important role assigned to users in the SLIM
exercise;

(cid:1) drawing up a guide clearly setting out the objectives and working methods of SLIM is important for
the proper functioning of the SLIM teams, but that the quality of the participants is the key factor in
the success of the SLIM exercises;

(cid:1) more synergy and cohesion between the different Commission initiatives in the field of improving

legislation is necessary, and calls on the Commission to submit specific proposals;

5.
Believes, however, that the present proposals which the Commission attaches to the SLIM evaluation
are not sufficient to guarantee the efficiency and speed of the SLIM process in the future, and therefore
calls on the Commission to:

(cid:1) ensure that good and effective consultation takes place with users at all stages in the SLIM process,

(cid:1) ensure that the conclusions of SLIM teams are drawn up and published as specific (legislative) propo-

sals within six months,

(cid:1) ensure, in consultation with the users, maximum input of practical expertise in the SLIM teams,

(cid:1) ensure that the department responsible for the SLIM exercises has sufficient manpower, resources and
authority to enable the preparatory work, monitoring and follow-up of the SLIM teams to proceed
rapidly, correctly and efficiently,

(cid:1) make use of the methods and techniques of international organisations with experience in the field of

evaluating the legislative process, for example the OECD;

Calls for more structured cooperation in the field of simplification of legislation and improvements in
6.
the quality of legislation between the Commission and the Member States; publishing an annual survey of
best practices in simplification of legislation and improvement of the quality of legislation in the Member
States could help achieve this goal; similarly, there should be greater structural cooperation in the field of
enforcement by national, regional or local authorities;

7.
Stresses that complex simplification exercises could be dispensed with if efforts are made from the
very beginning to ensure the creation of high quality legislation, with a clear focus on the administrative
and financial consequences; believes that both Council and Parliament should show the political will to
make sure that legislation is clear and simple when it leaves the Community Institutions;

Calls on the national governments and parliaments of the Member States to ensure the correct and

8.
prompt transposition of Community directives in national legislation;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the govern-

9.
ments and parliaments of the Member States.