WRITTEN QUESTION E-1140/01 by Giles Chichester (PPE-DE) to the Commission. Impact assessments.
Date: 2001-04-10
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: impact study, research project, type of business

C 350 E/80

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

11.12.2001

(2001/C 350 E/087)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1140/01

by Giles Chichester (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 April 2001)

Subject: Impact assessments

Does the Commission believe it has a satisfactory basis for making cost impact assessments on all
legislative proposals that will affect business and industry? If not, what research is being undertaken into
possible methodologies and when will this research yield results? Does the Commission agree such
assessments should be undertaken by independent experts with commercial experience rather than the
Commission itself?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission

(8 June 2001)

As the Honourable Member is aware, the Commission developed a system for business impact assessment
(BIA) already in 1986. Following the revision of the system in 1990 into its current form, it was decided
that a business impact assessment should be an obligatory attachment to legislative proposals with
significant impact on business.

The business impact assessment obliges the Commission to answer a number of questions related to the
likely impact a legislative proposal may have on business, including what business will have to do to
comply with it. In order to answer this question, it is recommended (in the existing BIA guidelines) that
quantitative estimates be elaborated for the expected compliance costs and administrative burdens that
a proposal may impose on business.

Although the business impact assessment system has, over the years, proven to be a useful tool for
assessing the impact of legislation on business, including cost impact, certain shortcomings of the system
have also become evident over the years.

Against this background, the Commission launched the BIA Pilot Project in September 2000. It will run to
February 2002, with preliminary conclusions to be drawn in the autumn of 2001. The aim of the BIA
Pilot Project is to streamline and strengthen the business impact assessment methodology and techniques.

One of the key elements being examined is the need for a more systematic approach towards economic
analysis as a tool for assessing the quantitative impacts (costs and benefits) of legislative proposals. The
benefits and limits of different kinds of economic analysis, such as cost-benefit analysis, cost-effectiveness
analysis and compliance cost analysis, are being investigated.

The BIA Pilot Project draws upon the practical experiences of a selected number of legislative proposals
underway in the Commission,
for which different kinds of economic studies have been launched.
Moreover, research that is being undertaken includes the review of relevant literature and good practices in
Community and Organisation for economic co-operation and development (OECD) Member States. To this
end, the Commission also launched in February 2001 a project under its (cid:145)Best procedure(cid:146) on (cid:145)Business
Impact Assessment in Member States(cid:146) in order to take account of good practices and lessons learned
regarding two main elements of
impact analysis, namely, economic impact analysis and external
consultation. A preliminary report will be presented at a Workshop on 26 June 2001, to which the
Parliament will be invited.

the BIA Pilot Project

The research undertaken within the framework of
is fully in line with the
Commission(cid:146)s interim report to the Stockholm European Council on improving and simplifying the
regulatory environment (1). This report was the Commission(cid:146)s initial response to the request of the Lisbon
European Council last spring to (cid:145)set out by 2001 a strategy for further co-ordinated action to simplify the
regulatory environment(cid:146) and sets out the main principles for improving and simplifying the regulatory
environment in the Community. One of the principles to which the Commission intends to adhere is to
carry out wide-ranging consultations and impact assessments before bringing forward any proposal. These
impact assessments should be comprehensive, objective and transparent and should include both
qualitative and quantitative analysis.

11.12.2001

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Official Journal of the European Communities

C 350 E/81

Building upon the principles outlined in the Stockholm interim report, the Commission will present a more
detailed action plan for improving and simplifying the regulatory environment to the Laeken European
Council at the end of this year, which will also take account of the recommendations set out in the
upcoming White Paper on European Governance.

Regarding the issue of whether impact assessments should be undertaken by independent experts or the
Commission itself, the Commission is of the opinion that final impact assessments of legislative proposals
should be carried out in-house. However, input from various external experts (e.g. scientific, technical,
commercial, economic, social and environmental) is needed for specific issues as well as for data collection
(e.g. compliance costs for business). This viewpoint is in accordance with experiences from impact
assessment systems in several OECD countries, such as the United Kingdom and the United States.

The Commission is highly committed to assess the costs and benefits of proposed regulatory measures (to
it believes that such
the extent possible) on all the parties concerned,
assessments could favourably look at costs and benefits of various levels of stringency of proposed
regulatory measures, since such information could be useful throughout the decision-making process.
Indeed, regulatory quality and simplification at Community level is an issue of common concern, which
requires joint commitment from all Union institutions.

including business. Moreover,

(1) COM(2001) 130 final.

(2001/C 350 E/088)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1141/01

by Theresa Villiers (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(10 April 2001)

Subject: Partnership with civil society to promote information on the euro

On 7 March 2001 the Commission announced that it had selected 34 projects out of 158 proposals
received to subsidise in the context of the information programme for European citizens (PRINCE). It was
stated in MEMO/01/66 that (cid:145)only transnational actions involving at least three Member States, at least one
of which is in the euro area, and with the greatest possible multiplier effect, will qualify for financial
support(cid:146).

Six of the selected projects will be undertaken by organisations with partners in the United Kingdom:

(cid:129) Eurochambres,

(cid:129) Industrie-und Handelskammer Trier,

(cid:129) Association Pour l(cid:146)Union MonØtaire de l(cid:146)Europe (AUME),

(cid:129) European Union of the Deaf,

(cid:129) Institut EuropØen interrØgional de la Consommation (IEIC),

(cid:129) ASFORM (Asociaci(cid:243)n para el Fomento de la Formaci(cid:243)n Ocupacional y Continua el

la Margen

Izquierda).

1.
Could the Commission confirm that it has secured guarantees from these organisations that funding
will not be channelled into promotional projects in the United Kingdom, which has not expressed the wish
to join the euro?

2.
Could the Commission explain why it is considering proposals from transnational organisations
involving at least three Member States, where only one of the three Member States has joined the euro,
and the other two countries have not expressed a wish to join?