Communication from the Commission - Action plan "Simplifying and improving the regulatory environment"
Date: 2002-06-05
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: commercial law, drafting of EU law, simplification of legislation

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 5.6.2002
COM(2002) 278 final

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

Action plan "Simplifying and improving the regulatory environment"

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3

1.

1.1.

1.2.

1.3.

2.

2.1.

2.2.

2.3.

3.

4.

Action to be taken by the Commission..................................................................... 5

Improving the quality of legislative proposals............................................................. 6

Monitoring the adoption and application of legislative acts ........................................ 8

General coordination and implementation ................................................................. 10

Action proposed to the European Parliament and the Council........................... 11

Making more appropriate use of legislative instruments ........................................... 11

Simplifying and reducing Community legislation ..................................................... 13

Ensuring the quality of legislation which has been adopted ...................................... 15

Action concerning the Member States ................................................................... 16

Developing a common legislative culture within the Union ................................. 18

2

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION

Action plan "Simplifying and improving the regulatory environment"

INTRODUCTION

The  purpose  of  this  communication  from  the  Commission  is  to  present  to  the  European
Council an Action plan introducing "a strategy for further coordinated  action to  simplify
the  regulatory  environment",  in  accordance  with  the  mandate  issued  by  the  European
Council at Lisbon and confirmed at the Stockholm, Laeken and Barcelona summits1.

The aim of simplifying and improving the regulatory environment is to ensure, in the interests
of members of the public, that Community legislation is more attuned to the problems posed,
to the challenge of  enlargement and to technical and local conditions. By being written in a
less complicated style, it should be easier to implement for the Member States and operators
concerned and easier for everyone to read and understand. Combined with efforts to improve
legislative  procedures  and  institutional  practices,  action  of  this  kind  should  save  time  and
reduce costs for companies and public authorities. The ultimate goal is to ensure a high level
of legal certainty across the EU, even after enlargement, enable economic and social operators
to be more dynamic and thus help to strengthen the Community's credibility in the eyes of its
citizens. The aim is not to deregulate the Community or limit its scope for action.

For  over  a  year,  the  Commission  has  been  engaged  in  a  consultation  process  with  the
other institutions and Member States with which it shares responsibility for the quality
of  Community  legislation.  It  has  presented  a  series  of  papers  in  order  to  solicit  their
opinions:

(cid:1)  An initial interim report, submitted to the Stockholm European Council in March
2001, taking stock of the situation and setting out the ideas being considered2;

(cid:1)  The White Paper on European Governance, adopted in July 2001, which includes
a section on improving the quality of legislation. The White Paper was subject to
wide public consultation until 31 March 20023;

(cid:1)  A  political  communication,  submitted  to  the  Laeken  European  Council,  which
was drawn up for the purpose of consulting the Council, the European Parliament
and the Member States on the main points of the Action Plan4.

In  response  to  these  documents,  the  Commission  received  several  important  submissions,
which it has used in drawing up this action plan:

1

2

3

4

Conclusions of the European Council summits at Lisbon (23 and 24 March 2000), Stockholm (23 and
24 March 2001), Laeken (8 and 9 December 2001 and Barcelona (15 and 16 March 2002).
COM (2001) 130 final.
COM (2001) 428 final.
COM (2001) 726 final.

3

                                                
(cid:1)  the  comments  received  during  the  period  of  open  consultation  launched  by  the
White  Paper  on  European  Governance;  these  show  widespread  support  for  the
White Paper's proposals on the quality of legislation;

(cid:1)  the  resolutions  on  this  subject  adopted  by  the  European  Parliament5  and  the
Council  of  Ministers6  as  well  as  the  opinions  of  the  Economic  and  Social
Committee7 and of the Committee of the Regions8;

(cid:1)  the comments of various Member States9 ;

(cid:1)  and the final report of the high-level consultative group ("Mandelkern Group") set
up  by  the  Ministers  responsible  for  the  Civil  Service  in  November  200010,  of
which  the  Commission  has  taken  the  utmost  account  and  most  of  whose
recommendations correspond to the measures proposed in this Action Plan.

Now that this consultation process has been completed, the Commission feels that the strategy
for  better  quality  legislation  should  focus  on  the  three  main  parts  of  the  legislative  cycle:
preparation and presentation of the legislative proposal by the Commission; discussion of the
proposal by the European Parliament and the Council; application of the legislative act by the
Member States.

The Commission has drawn up an Action Plan for simplifying and improving the quality of
the regulatory  environment  without  changing  the  Treaty.  It  wishes  to  discuss  this  now  with
the other institutions, particularly with a view to reaching an interinstitutional agreement.

In order to organise and assist the future dialogue between the institutions,  the  Action  Plan,
while  stressing  the  relevance  of  the  three  stages  of  the  legislative  cycle,  focuses  on  the
individual  and  joint  responsibilities  of  the  entities  involved:  Commission,  European
Parliament,  Council  and  Member  States.  This  communication  therefore  makes  a  distinction
between the following kinds of action:

(cid:1)  action which falls within the Commission's remit;

(cid:1)  action proposed to the European Parliament and Council in their capacity as the

Community legislator;

(cid:1)  action designed to ensure the effective transposition and application of legislation

by the Member States;

5

6

7

8

9

10

Cf. European Parliament resolution on the Commission White Paper on European governance, adopted
on  28  November  2001,  and  the  European  Parliament's  draft  resolution  on  the  Communication
"Simplifying  and  improving  the  regulatory  environment"  (COM  (2001)  726),  based  on  the  Medina
Ortega report.
Council Resolution on "Internal Market/Consumer Affairs/Tourism" adopted on 21 May 2002.
Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee, adopted on 21 March 2002.
Opinion on "New forms of governance: Europe as a framework for citizens' initiatives", adopted on 4
January 2001, and an opinion on the White Paper on European Governance, adopted on 4 April 2002.
Comments from the Federal Republic of Germany, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and the
United Kingdom on the White Paper on European Governance. Comments  from the United Kingdom
on the Commission Communication of 5 December 2001 (COM(2001)726).
Final  report  of  the  high-level  consultation  group,  chaired  by  Mr  Mandelkern,  submitted  on  13
November 2001.

4

                                                
(cid:1)  action to promote a common legislative culture within the Union.

In light of the comments and opinions received, the proposed Action Plan identifies specific
measures involving the Commission, the European Parliament, the Council and the Member
States either individually or collectively.

The  Commission,  for  its  part,  intends  to  honour  the  commitments  it  has  undertaken  and
announced in the three documents mentioned above. Therefore, with a view to improving the
quality of its work, the Commission is adopting, alongside this Action Plan, two specific
Communications which explain two key measures that the Commission is launching: firstly,
the  establishment  of  minimum  standards  of  consultation  and,  secondly,  the  definition  of  a
consolidated  impact  assessment  method  for  its  key  initiatives  concerning  policy  and
legislation. In this way, the Commission wishes to send a clear political signal of its intention
to improve the quality of legislation, make its working methods more transparent and set the
example  of  good  practice.  These  measures  will  be  introduced  by  redeploying  existing
resources, which will remain the same.

The Commission would stress that the success of this strategy, to which the Action Plan gives
concrete  form,  depends  on  the  other  institutions  and  Member  States  showing  a  strong
political  commitment  to  its  formulation  and  implementation.  In  this  respect,  the
Commission reiterates its desire for creation of an ongoing interinstitutional dialogue so that
it can discuss with the European Parliament and Council the measures contained in the Action
Plan which fall within their legislative remit and within the remit of the Member States. As it
has  already  announced11,  the  Commission  is  still  convinced  of 
the  need  for  an
interinstitutional agreement on these matters.

This Action Plan must also be seen in the context of the work of the European Convention
on  the  future  of  the  Union12  insofar  as  the  Convention's  mandate  also  covers  key  points
concerning  the  quality  of  legislation.  The  Commission  therefore  reserves  the  right  to  make
additional comments on the "distinction between legislative and executive measures" and the
problem of which legislative instruments are appropriate.

1. 

ACTION TO BE TAKEN BY THE COMMISSION

By  virtue  of  the  Treaties,  the  Commission  has  a  virtual  monopoly  on  exercising  legislative
initiative  within  areas  of  Community  competence.  It  therefore  falls  to  the  Commission  to
ensure that legislative proposals are highly relevant and of a high quality, in accordance with
the  Protocol  on  the  application  of  the  principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality13.  The
Commission  also  seeks  to  guarantee  the  proper  application  of  legislation  by  the  Member
States.

In  view  of  these  responsibilities,  the  Commission  is  committed  to  taking  the  following
action in order to improve the quality, relevance and monitoring of its proposals.

11

12

13

COM (2001) 726 final, page 10.
Conclusions of the Laeken European Council, Annex 1.
Cf.  Point  9  of  the  Protocol  on  the  application  of  the  principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality,
annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam.

5

                                                
1.1. 

Improving the quality of legislative proposals

In  the  White  Paper  on  European  Governance,  the  Commission  made  a  certain  number  of
commitments to the quality and transparency of improving the large number of consultations
which  it  already  holds.  In  this  regard,  the  Commission  would  point  out  that  this  year  it  is
going  to  publish  a  list  of  bodies  through  which  civil  society  is  being  consulted  and  that  it
plans  to  implement  the  protocols  signed  with  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the
Committee of the Regions. Moreover, the Commission will shortly publish guidelines on how
expert  opinions  can  be  obtained  and  used  by  the  Commission  with  a  view  to  ensuring  that
such opinions comply with the principles of responsibility, pluralism and integrity.

Alongside  this  Action  Plan,  the  Commission  adopts  a  Communication  proposing  minimum
standards  of  consultation14.  This  Communication  is  also  the  subject  of  consultations  and
should enable these minimum standards to be adopted by the end of 2002. The Commission
would point out that reinforcing the consultation stage which precedes the legislative proposal
will have absolutely no impact on the  commitments made with regard  to the Economic  and
Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the  Regions  with  a  view  to  obtaining  opinions,  in
appropriate cases, prior to exercising its right of initiative; nor will it have an impact on the
special role played by the social partners15.

Action: Defining minimum standards of consultation

Defining  minimum  standards  of  consultation  by  the  end  of  2002:  this  will  be  done  in
cooperation with the parties concerned and on the basis of the Communication presented by
the Commission.

The purpose of this arrangement is to place the consultations instigated by the Commission on
a systematic footing and make them more transparent. More particularly, its aim will be to:

–  help  improve  the  participation  of  interested  parties  and  civil  society  in  the  consultation

process;

–  make consultations more transparent as regards the way in which they are conducted and

how the results are used by the Commission ;

–  ensure  that  all  the  Commission's  departments  adopt  a  consistent  approach  to  the

consultation process.

In  particular,  one  of  the  standards  envisaged  by  the  Commission  will  stipulate  that
consultations  last  for  a  minimum  of  six  weeks,  another  will  make  it  easier  for  interested
parties to take part in consultations by  establishing  a  single  access  point  showing  the  list of
consultations in progress.

Remit: Commission

Implementation: as of 2003

Alongside the procedures developed over several years within the OECD and some Member
States,  the  Commission  has  devised  an  impact  assessment  method  in  order  to  meet  the
requests  made  at the  European Council summits  in  Gothenburg  and  Laeken.  The  method  is

14

15

COM (2002) 277 final.
In accordance with Articles 138 and 139 of the EC Treaty.

6

                                                
set  out  in  a  special  communication  adopted  alongside  the  present  Action  Plan16.  The
Commission plans that this instrument, which brings all existing procedures under one roof17,
should guarantee and justify the validity of its legislative proposals.

Action: Assessing the impact of major legislative and policy initiatives

By  the  end  of  2002,  the  Commission  will  implement  a  consolidated  and  proportionate
instrument  for  assessing  the  impact  of  its  legislative  and  policy  initiatives,  covering
regulatory  impact  assessment  and  sustainable  development  (in  the  economic,  social  and
environmental  fields)  and  incorporating  the  existing  instruments  and  methods.  The  impact
assessment will make it easier to decide whether action should be taken at Community level,
having  regard  to  the  Treaty  and  the  Protocol  on  the  application  of  the  principles  of
subsidiarity and proportionality.

(cid:1)  This  instrument  will  also  make  it  easier  to  choose  the  most  appropriate  instrument  or
combination of instruments (of both a legislative and non-legislative nature) from the wide
range  of  options  available  (regulation,  directive,  recommendation,  coregulation,  self-
regulation, voluntary sectoral agreements, open coordination method, financial assistance,
information campaign);

(cid:1)  In principle, all legislative proposals and all other major policy proposals for adoption, i.e.
set  out  in  the  Commission's  work  programme,  will  be  subject  to  the  impact  assessment
procedure.  However,  only  significant  proposals  will  be  subject  to  an  extended  impact
assessment.

(cid:1)  On the basis of a preliminary impact assessment at the stage of the Annual Policy Strategy
a year before adoption of initiatives, the Commission will identify the proposals subject to
a  more  detailed  Impact  Assessment.  The  Directorates-General  must  have  completed  the
impact assessment by the inter-departmental consultation stage at the latest. In cases where
proposals require in-depth assessment, the Directorates-General will on their own initiative
start the process even before the proposal is included in the Annual Policy Strategy.

Remit: Commission

Implementation: gradually from the end of 2002 onwards with a view to being applied in full
in 2004/2005

Under the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, the
Commission  is  required  to  include  details  in  the  explanatory  memoranda  accompanying
legislative proposals justifying the relevance  of  its  proposals  with  regard  to  the  principle  of
subsidiarity and explaining their financial implications18. In order to ensure that its proposals
can be properly understood and that the action mentioned above is implemented consistently,
the  Commission  proposes  to  take  the  additional  step  of  improving  the  content  of  the
explanatory memorandum.

16

17

18

COM (2002) 276 final.
Over the last few years, the Commission has developed several special impact assessment instruments
and  methods:  Business  Impact  Assessment ;  Regulatory  Impact  Assessment ;  Sustainable  Impact
Assessment,  and  prior  appraisal  in  order  to  take  account  of  the  objectives  of  the  Treaty,  such  as
sustainable development, environmental protection and health.
Cf. Protocol, ibid., point 9, second indent.

7

                                                
Action: Expanding the explanatory memoranda accompanying legislative proposals

In the  explanatory memorandum  accompanying  a legislative  proposal,  the  Commission  will
include the following five pieces of information, possibly on the basis of a standard  format:
consultations held and results obtained, impact assessments carried out, reasons for choosing
the  proposed  instrument  (particularly  with  regard  to  the  principles  of  subsidiarity  and
proportionality), and the budgetary implications of the proposal.

Remit: Commission

Implementation: gradually from 2003 onwards

Finally, the quality of the legislation must be maintained at the implementation stage too. The
question  of  adjusting  legislation  to  changes  in  the  issues  concerned  —  a  question  which  is
raised by the Member States and the parties involved in applying the legislation — is a major
challenge and must be addressed during the drafting stage. Doing  so should  also  help  make
legislation less complex (cf. Part II).

Action: Including a review clause in legislative acts

Without  prejudice  to  its  right  of  initiative,  the  Commission  will  take  steps  to  add,  where
appropriate, a review clause, or even a revision clause, to its legislative proposals, particularly
those which are subject to rapid technological change, so that legislation can be updated and
adjusted regularly. The Commission will draw up a report using the information provided by
the  Member  States  and  the  parties  concerned  and  will,  where  necessary,  propose  that  the
legislation  concerned  be  amended.  Action  of  this  kind  should  be  based  on  effective
cooperation  with  the  national  authorities  (cf.  Part  IV),  particularly  when  it  comes  to  the  ex
post evaluation of how the legislation has been applied in the Member States. In appropriate
cases,  the  Commission  will  seek  to  identify  ways  of  simplifying  the  substantive  aspects  of
legislative acts after they have been reviewed. In proposing a review clause, the Commission
will seek to preserve legal certainty for operators.

Remit: Commission

Implementation: immediate

1.2.  Monitoring the adoption and application of legislative acts

The  adoption  of  legislative  acts  is  essentially  the  prerogative  of  the  Community  legislator.
The Commission, for its part, should play a more decisive role in this process:

(cid:1)  by giving the European Parliament and Council greater encouragement to come to
an  agreement  quickly,  in  cases  where  this  is  appropriate,  and  to  do  so  where
possible  during  the  first  reading  in  cases  where  the  codecision  procedure  is
applicable.  For  this  to  happen,  the  Commission  will  have  to  be  more
systematically  involved  in  the  early  stages  of  the  negotiations.  It  will  use  the
consultations and impact assessments it conducted earlier in order to rally support
for its proposals;

(cid:1)  by  calling  on  the  Council  to  vote  by  qualified  majority,  wherever  provision  is
made  for  this,  rather  than  making  excessive  efforts  to  reach  a  consensus,  which

8

too  often  leads  to  the  procedure  being  drawn  out  and  results  in  complicated
compromises.

The  Commission  will  also  take  the  following  action  to  ensure  the  quality  and  relevance  of
law-making:

Action: Commission making greater use of the opportunities
to withdraw legislative proposals

In full observance of existing interinstitutional rules and practice, the Commission will make
greater use of the opportunity to withdraw a legislative proposal where one of the following
two criteria applies:

–  a  proposal  is  pending  and  has  not  been  discussed  for  several  years  by  the  Council  and
European  Parliament  and  no  longer  has  current  relevance  (it  is  already  the  case  that  the
Commission  regularly  withdraws  such  proposals  in  order  to  simplify  the  law-making
process and lighten the burden of legislative work)19.

–  amendments  introduced  by  the  European  Parliament  and/or  the  Council  denature  the
proposal,  introduce  a  level  of  complexity  which  is  incompatible  with  the  objectives  and
provisions contained in the Treaty or appear to contradict the Protocol on the application of
the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.

Of  course,  whether  or  not  these  measures  are  applied  will  be  at  the  Commission's  political
discretion. The adoption of legislative acts, particularly the most important  ones,  sometimes
requires a long process of negotiations as well as complicated compromises.

Remit: Commission

Implementation: immediate

The  Commission  also  seeks  to  ensure  that  Community  legislation  is  applied  properly  and
takes  action  against  perceived  infringements.  In  this  context,  it  is  pleased  about  the
cooperation  it  has  achieved  on  these  issues  with  the  European  Parliament,  through  its
Petitions Committee, and with the European Ombudsman.

Action: Following up infringements

In  keeping  with  the  commitments  made,  the  Commission  has  already  codified  the
administrative  measures  in  force  concerning  the  processing  of  complaints.20  This  is  an
important first step which should be extended to include infringements.

The Commission will therefore shortly lay down the criteria which will be used to establish
priorities for examining possible breaches of Community law. This will be based on the points
already  proposed  in  the  White  Paper  on  European  Governance  and  will  not  limit  the
Commission's  discretionary  powers  (the  effectiveness  and  quality  of  transposition  of
directives;  the  compatibility  of  national  law  with  the  fundamental  principles  of  Community

19

20

The Commission has withdrawn several proposals in recent years: 34 in 1997; 58 in 1999; and 108 in
2001.
COM(2002) 141 final, adopted on 20 March 2002.

9

                                                
law; cases which seriously affect the Community interest; recurrent problems associated with
the  implementation  of  a  particular  legislative  instrument  in  a  Member  State;  and  problems
relating to Community financing).

The Commission will also further reinforce  its checks on  the transposition of legislation, in
particular by establishing a periodic table on the transposition of Community legislation and
by taking action against possible infringements.

Remit: Commission

Implementation: 2002

1.3. 

General coordination and implementation

To make its legislative proposals  more  consistent  and  to  take  the  action  described  here,  the
Commission will set up an internal network on "better lawmaking". This will make it possible
to combine and coordinate the work of existing networks and working parties in accordance
with the Commission's desire to simplify its working methods.

Action: Setting up an internal network in the Commission

The  Commission  will  put  in  place  an  internal  network  for  "better  lawmaking"  which  will
involve  all  the  Directorates-General  which  have  regulatory  responsibilities  and  will  be
coordinated by the Secretariat General21.

This  network,  which  will  be  loosely  structured,  will  have  the  key  task  of  coordinating  and
reinforcing  the  existing  instruments  and  bodies  and  providing  a  general  approach  to  the
implementation  and  monitoring  of  this  Action  Plan.  Specifically,  the  network  will  have  the
following mandate:

–  Monitoring  compliance  with  the  principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality  and  the
commitments  made  by  the  Commission  in  this  Action  Plan  as  regards  methodology  and
providing assistance with regard to the implementation of the Action Plan;

–  Identifying  and  averting  problems  which  might  arise  concerning  the  application  of  the
principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality  and  the  action  set  out  in  the  Plan.  When
necessary, any such matter calling for policy negotiation will be referred by the network,
via Secretariat-General, to the Directorates-General or even the College;

–  It will also be responsible for coordinating the preparation of the annual assessment of the

quality of legislation and of national reports (see Part IV);

–  The network will finally have to ensure that the Commission adopts a consistent position
within the interinstitutional network and in its relations with Member States (see Part IV).

Remit: Commission

Implementation: immediate

21

The  Commission  already  relies  on  the  Secretariat  General  and  internal  consultations  as  an  important
way of ensuring that its policies are coordinated. The commitments undertaken in this Action Plan and
the increased need for good-quality legislation make the creation of this type of coordination network
both necessary and justifiable.

10

                                                
2. 

ACTION PROPOSED TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COUNCIL

Improving  and  simplifying  Community  legislation  is  also  largely  the  responsibility  of  the
Community's  legislative  authority,  i.e.  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council,  which,
strictly  speaking,  exercise  their  prerogatives  mainly  during  the  discussion  and  adoption
procedure.

The Commission  feels that the quality  of legislation  cannot  be improved  without  the  strong
commitment  of  the  legislator.  The  Commission  would  stress  the  need  to  discuss  this  at
interinstitutional  level  so  that,  if  the  other  institutions  agree,  an  interinstitutional  agreement
can be drawn up. Such an agreement should be concluded, if possible, by the end of 2002 in
view of the schedule for taking action thereafter.

Without prejudice to its right of initiative, the Commission therefore proposes the  following
action to the Community institutions:

2.1.  Making more appropriate use of legislative instruments

The Commission has undertaken  to explain  how  the lawmaking instruments to which it  has
access  are  chosen  and  used22.  This  subject  is  covered  by  the  mandate  of  the  European
Convention  and  might  result  in  the  Treaty  being  amended  during  the  subsequent
Intergovernmental Conference23. In these circumstances, the Commission does not feel that it
is appropriate to put forward a proposal in this Action Plan and reserves the right to make a
submission to the Convention at a later date.

The  Commission  nevertheless  takes  the  opportunity  to  point  out  that  regulations  and
directives should be used in accordance with the spirit and letter of the Treaties: a regulation
should  only  be  used  for  action  which  must  be  applied  in  a  uniform  manner  in  the  Member
States; a directive must become, in other cases, an instrument establishing a legal framework
and objectives which must be met.

The  Commission  would  also  stress  that  appropriate  use  can  be  made  of  alternatives  to
legislation without undermining the provisions of the Treaty or prerogatives of the legislator.
There are several tools which, in specific circumstances, can be used to achieve the objectives
of the Treaty while simplifying lawmaking activities and legislation itself (coregulation, self-
regulation, voluntary sectoral agreements, open coordination method, financial interventions,
information campaign).

Self-regulation  concerns  a  large  number  of  practices,  common  rules,  codes  of  conduct  and
voluntary  agreements  which  economic  actors,  social  players,  NGOs  and  organised  groups
establish  themselves  on  a  voluntary  basis  in  order  to  regulate  and  organise  their  activities.
Unlike coregulation, self-regulation does not involve a legislative act (see below).

The  Commission  can  consider  it  preferable  not  to  make  a  legislative  proposal  where
agreements of this kind already exist and can be used to achieve the objectives set out in the
Treaty. It can also suggest, via a recommendation for example, that this type of agreements be
concluded by the parties concerned to avoid having to use legislation, without ruling out the
possibility of legislating if such agreements prove insufficient or inefficient.

22

23

COM(2001)428 "White  Paper  on  European  Governance"  and  COM(2001)726  "Simplifying  and
improving the regulatory environment".
See above.

11

                                                
These voluntary agreements constitute one form of self-regulation. Voluntary agreements can
also be concluded on the basis of a legislative act, i.e. in a more binding and formal manner in
the context of co-regulation, thereby enabling parties concerned to implement a specific piece
of legislation.

The Commission will continue to inform the legislator of the choice of instruments which it
favours by including information to this effect in the annual Work Programme and/or through
existing procedures for dialogue with the legislator.

Finally,  as  the  Commission  is  aware  that  Community  legislation  has  become  increasingly
detailed — which sometimes make it difficult to understand and put into practice — it intends
to  avoid  making  its  legislative  proposals  unwieldy,  in  accordance  with  the  Protocol  on  the
application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality24.

Action: Limiting directives to the essential aspects of legislation

The Commission plans to revert to the original definition of the directive as laid down in the
Treaty. It therefore wants to ensure, as far as possible, that directives are general in nature and
cover the objectives, periods of validity and essential aspects of legislation. It will be for the
legislator  to  decide  what  form  these  essential  aspects  should  take,  by  making  a  policy
decision, and to ensure that technicalities and details are a matter for executive measures.

Limiting  directives  in  this  way  with  a  view  —  among  other  things  —  to  simplifying
legislation  will  be  done  without  undermining  the  legislative  prerogatives  of  the  European
Parliament  and  the  Council;  on  the  contrary,  it  will  enable  them  to  concentrate  their
discussions on the fundamental aspects of legislation. In the Commission's view, action of this
kind should go hand in hand with deliberations between the institutions on how implementing
powers should be delegated. The Commission reserves the right to make additional proposals
on this subject25.

Remit: institutions.

Implementation: in the course of 2002.

As  illustrated  by  the  debates  in  the  European  Parliament,  coregulation  is  one  of  the  most
sensitive issues faced not only by operators and organisations representing particular sectors
but also by the institutions. Within the framework of a legislative act, coregulation makes it
possible  to  ensure  that  the  objectives  defined  by  the  legislator  can  be  implemented  in  the
context of measures carried out by parties recognised as being active in the field concerned.
With a view to simplifying legislation, the Commission remains convinced that it is a method
whose  implementation  —  circumscribed  by  criteria  laid  down  in  a  joint  agreement  —  can
prove  to  be  relevant  when  it  comes  to  adjusting  legislation  to  the  problems  and  sectors
concerned,  reducing  the  burden  of  legislative  work  by  focusing  on  the  essential  aspects  of
legislation,  and  drawing  on  the  experience  of  interested  parties,  particularly  operators  and
social  partners.  In  this  regard,  the  Commission  points  out  that  Articles  138  and  139  of  the
Treaty  make  provision  for  specific  forms  of  coregulation  which  are  not  affected  by  this
Action Plan.

24

25

Cf. Protocol, ibid., point 6.
COM (2002) 275 final.

12

                                                
Action: A framework for coregulation

The Commission will propose to the legislator that coregulation be used  more  frequently in
accordance with the following criteria:

(cid:1)  The  Commission  proposes  to  the  legislator  that  coregulation  be  used  on  the  basis  of  a
legislative  act.  Thus,  all  proposals  on  the  subject  concerned  will  be  referred  to  the
legislator.  Without  prejudice  to  its  rights  of  initiative,  the  Commission  will  inform  the
legislator in advance, through its Annual Work Programme and/or existing procedures for
dialogue, of its intentions to use the coregulation mechanism. The legislator can therefore
decide, on a case by case basis, whether this mechanism should be used.

(cid:1)  The  coregulation  mechanism,  within  the  framework  of  a  legislative  act,  must  be  in  the
interests  of  the  general  public.  Using  this  mechanism  can  be  appropriate  in  cases  where
flexible and/or urgent measures are necessary, provided that they do not require a uniform
application in the Community and that they do not affect the conditions for competition.

(cid:1)  Within  this  regulatory  framework,  the  legislator  establishes  the  essential  aspects  of  the
legislation:  the  objectives  to  achieve;  the  deadlines  and  mechanisms  relating  to  its
implementation; methods of monitoring the application of the legislation and any sanctions
which are necessary to guarantee the legal certainty of the legislation.

(cid:1)  The legislator determines to what extent  defining  and  implementing  the  measures  can  be
left  to  the  parties  concerned  because  of  the  experience  they  are  acknowledged  to  have
gained in the field. These provisions, such as sectoral agreements, must be compatible with
European competition law.

(cid:1)  In  cases  where  using  the  coregulation  mechanism  has  not  produced  the  expected  results,
the  Commission  reserves  the  right  to  make  a  traditional  legislative  proposal  to  the
legislator.

(cid:1)  The  principle  of  the  transparency  of  legislation  applies  to  the  coregulation  mechanism.
Members  of  the  public  must  have  access  to  the  act  and  to  the  implementing  provisions.
Sectoral agreements and modalities for implementation must be made public in accordance
with arrangements which have yet to be defined.

(cid:1)  The parties concerned must be considered to be representative, organised and responsible

by the Commission, Council and European Parliament.

Remit:  Institutions  –  Even  where  the  Commission  proposes  a  legislative  act  in  which
provision is made for coregulation, the proposal must be adopted by the European Parliament
and the Council.

Implementation: 2002

2.2. 

Simplifying and reducing Community legislation

The body of Community law runs to over 80 000 pages and already applies to operators and
citizens. There are already several ways of reducing and simplifying the volume of legislation

13

(consolidation,  codification,  redrafting  and  simplification)26.  The  Commission  has  launched
trials in certain sectors for simplifying the substance of texts which; however, in spite of the
progress made, these are limited and the results do not always reflect the Commission's work
(e.g.  SLIM  programme).  At  the  same  time,  a  major  codification  programme  has  just  been
launched  and  should  make  it  possible  to  reduce  the  volume  of  Community  law,  make
legislation easier to read and to apply and provide tangible results27.

Further  steps  should  undoubtedly  be  taken  by  creating  a  programme  for  simplifying
legislation  alongside  the  codification  programme.  Both  programmes,  together  with  the
implementation of the interinstitutional agreement on recasting, should make it possible to set
an ambitious objective for simplifying and reducing the volume of Community legislation.

The support of the European Parliament and the Council is a sine qua non in this respect. The
Commission therefore proposes the following:

Action: Simplifying and reducing the volume of Community legislation

The  Commission  feels  that,  with  the  support  of  the  Council  and  European  Parliament,  the
following  twofold  objective  should  be  set:  simplifying  the  body  of  Community  law  and
reducing its volume28. In order to achieve this, the following steps must be taken:

–  The  institutions  must  jointly  define  a  programme  for  simplifying  the  substance  of
Community legislation. The Commission will have to identify the sectors which could be
used for this exercise and inform the legislator accordingly. The European Parliament and
the  Council,  which  as  the  legislator  will  ultimately  have  to  adopt  the  proposals  for
simplified legislative acts, should change their working methods by creating, for instance,
ad  hoc  bodies  which  have  the  specific  responsibility  of  simplifying  legislation29.  The
Commission considers it essential that an interinstitutional agreement on simplification be
drawn up, particularly as regards those procedures which allow the legislator to speed up

26

27

28

29

Consolidation means  grouping together in a single  non-binding  text  the  current  provisions  of  a  given
regulatory  instrument  which  are  spread  among  the  first  legal  act  and  subsequent  amending  acts.
Codification means the adoption of a new legal instrument which brings together, in a single text, but
without  changing  the  substance,  a  previous  instrument  and  its  successive  amendments,  with  the  new
instrument replacing the old one and repealing it.  An interinstitutional agreement on  codification  was
concluded on 20 December 1994. Recasting means adopting a single legal act which makes the required
substantive  changes,  codifies  them  with  provisions  remaining  unchanged  from  the  previous  act,  and
repeals  the  previous  act.  The  inter-institutional  agreement  adopted  on  17  April  2002  for  a  more
structured use of the recasting technique for legal acts [SEC(2001) 1364]  will  make it easier to apply
this  method.  Simplification  means  seeking,  with  the  benefit  of  hindsight,  to  make  the  substance  of  a
piece  of  regulation  simpler  and  more  appropriate  to  the  users'  requirements.  Legislative  acts  which
undergo  codification,  recasting  or  simplification  must  be  submitted  to  the  legislator  for  adoption  as
their structure or substance has been changed.
COM (2001) 645 final.
COM  (2001)  726  final.  The  Commission  felt  that  this  volume  should  be  reduced  by  at  least  25%  in
terms of the number of pages and/or the number of legislative acts by January 2005, when the term of
office of the present Commission comes to an end.
Experience  with  the  SLIM  programme  has  shown  the  need  for  such  bodies  as  it  is  often  difficult  for
those who have contributed to the adoption of a piece of legislation to simplify it subsequently. Specific
bodies  therefore  need  to  be  set  up.  Moreover,  simplified  legislative  proposals  often  need  to  undergo
several legislative readings before they are adopted and may even require a conciliation procedure. The
Commission believes that the legislator should take steps to speed up its procedures on these legislative
proposals.

14

                                                
its examination of simplified legislative acts. An agreement of this kind could be reached
by the end of 2002.

–  The codification programme, launched by the Commission in November 200130, must be
supported, by drawing up accelerated adoption procedures, at the first reading, of codified
legislative  proposals  submitted  by  the  Commission.  The  Commission,  for  its  part,  will
undertake preparatory work, in tandem with the European Parliament and the Council, so
that an agreement of this kind can be reached.

Remit: Institutions.

Completion date: January 2005. An interim report will be drawn up at the end of 2003.

2.3. 

Ensuring the quality of legislation which has been adopted

In recent years, the institutions have adopted a number of agreements which place them under
an obligation to ensure the quality of legislation31. The Commission considers it essential that
a greater effort be made to put these principles into practice.

As a result of their deliberations, the European Parliament and the Council adopt amendments
which sometimes introduce substantial changes to the Commission's initial proposal. Without
calling into question the democratic legitimacy of this procedure, the Commission has a duty
to point out that some amendments, because they have been drafted in a complicated manner
or because they are too precise or not precise enough, can change the quality of the legislative
act itself. This can adversely affect the way in which the act is applied, for operators, citizens,
national legislators and administrations.

The Commission feels that it is essential to maintain high standards as regards the quality and
consistency  throughout  the  entire  legislative  process.  Without  making  the  decision-making
process  excessively  cumbersome,  it  would  undoubtedly  be  beneficial,  in  the  case  of  "last
minute"  agreements,  for  instance,  to  introduce  a  period  during  which  the  proposal  can  be
reread by lawyer-linguists before it is finally adopted.  The legislators could thus  correct the
wording without calling into question the substance of a political compromise.

More specifically, the Commission proposes the following:

Action: Assessing the impact of substantial amendments
by the European Parliament and Council

In  keeping  with  the  Commission's  approach  to  its  own  proposals  and  as  suggested  by  the
report of the Mandelkern Group, measures should be adopted at interinstitutional level or an
interinstitutional  agreement drawn  up  to  ensure  that  substantial  modifications  introduced  by

30

31

COM (2001) 645 final.
Cf.  Protocol  on  the  application  of  the  principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality,  ibid.;  Final
Declaration  and  Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  the  quality  of  drafting  of  Community  legislation,  OJ
C 73 of 17 March 1999.

15

                                                
the  European  Parliament  and  Council  to  Commission  proposals  during  the  first  reading
undergo an evaluation or an impact assessment32.

Although an additional assessment of this kind might seem likely to slow down proceedings
in  certain  cases,  it  should  nevertheless  ensure  that  the  legislative  act  which  is  ultimately
adopted  is  well  founded,  proportionate  and  does  not  entail  excessive  costs  for  the  parties
concerned.

Remit: The European Parliament and the Council will carry out the assessments and will be
responsible for their amendments. The Commission will conduct an initial impact assessment
on the legislative proposal and will continue to deliver an opinion on the amendments of the
European Parliament, in accordance with the Treaty.

Implementation: gradually from 2003 onwards.

3. 

ACTION CONCERNING THE MEMBER STATES

The Member  States,  at  both  governmental  and  parliamentary  levels,  also  have  an  important
political  responsibility  when  it  comes  to  simplifying  and  improving  the  regulatory
environment. Apart from their activities within the Council, they are responsible for applying
and, sometimes also transposing, Community legislation at national level. It is also important
that  Community  legislation  be  put  into  practice  more  effectively.  The  transposition  and
application  of  legislation  in  practice  must  therefore  play  its  rightful  role  in  the  efforts  to
improve and simplify the regulatory environment.

It  is  nevertheless  the  Commission's  responsibility  to  check  that  Community  legislation  is
being transposed properly and to ensure, in close cooperation with the Member States, that the
legislation  has  a  real  impact  as  well  as  coordinating  and  supporting  efforts  to  put  it  into
practice.

This dual level of  responsibility  throughout the  entire period during  which the  legislation is
applied  calls  for  a  more  systematic  distribution  of  roles  and  a  number  of  coordination
measures:

(cid:1)  in  line  with  the  strategy  defined  at  the  Lisbon  European  Council,  the  Member
States must seek to ensure that Community acts are transposed into their national
legislation  correctly  and  within  the  set  deadlines,  in  accordance  with  the
conclusions of the Stockholm and Barcelona European Councils33. This is basic to
the  Community  functioning  effectively;  to  the  certainty  and  consistency  of  the
regulatory environment for operators and to the credibility of the European Union
in the eyes of its citizens;

32

33

In  view  of  the  time  limits  which  apply  to  legislative  procedures  after  the  first  reading,  it  would  be
difficult  to  carry  out  an  appropriate  impact  assessment  at  a  later  stage.  Assessments  of  legislative
proposals should be carried out after the consultation and codecision procedures.
Conclusions  of  the  Barcelona  European  Council  on  15  and  16  March  2002:  "Although  progress  has
been made, the interim transposition target of 98.5% set in Stockholm has only been achieved by seven
Member States. Efforts need to be stepped up. The European Council calls on Member States to make
further efforts to meet that target and for a transposition target of 100% to be achieved by the Spring
European  Council  in  2003  in  the  case  of  directives  whose  implementation  is  more  than  two  years
overdue."

16

                                                
(cid:1)  the Member States should also rationalise their internal procedures by introducing
mechanisms  which  ensure  that  their  authorities  (at  central,  regional  and  local
levels) which are responsible for transposing and applying directives are involved
as early as possible in the legislative process;

(cid:1)  in  general 

terms, 

from  appointing
correspondents  responsible  for  coordinating  the  transposition  and  application  of
Community acts.

the  Member  States  would  benefit 

Alongside these recommendations, the Commission proposes that the Member States take the
following action:

Action: Transmission of national notifications

The Member States will provide notification of transposing measures  electronically, using a
standard  form,  proposed  by  the  Council's  informatics  working  party.  In  line  with  the
conclusions  of  the  Lisbon  European  Council,  the  Member  States  should  also  draw  up,  for
their own  benefit and in the interests  of the Community, their own concordance table  when
providing notification of national transposing measures.

Remit: Member States and Commission.

Implementation: gradually from 2003 onwards.

.

Action: Consultations and impact assessments in the Member States

- In order to improve the quality of national transposing measures, the Member States should
establish  consultation  and  impact  assessment  standards  for  any  supplementary  provisions
added  to  legislative  acts.  This  is  particularly  important  in  cases  where  the  Member  States
would make the act transposing a directive  too  unwieldy (cf. Part  I).  It  goes  without saying
that the content of the act adopted at Community level should not be changed nor should there
be any delay in the transposition of the act by the Member States. The Commission should be
informed  about  action  of  this  kind  and  notified  of  national  transposing  measures  so  that
feedback  can  take  place  at  Community  level.  The  Member  States  should  also  guarantee
members of the public access to these results.

-  Following  the  recommendations  of  the  Mandelkern  Group,  the  Commission  feels  that  the
Member  States  should  also  carry  out  impact  assessments  on  draft  national  laws  which  they
notify to the Commission34.

- By analogy with  the obligations  concerning  the Commission's  right  of  initiative  set  out  in
the  Protocol  on  the  application  of  the  principles  of  subsidiarity  and  proportionality,  the
Commission  feels  that  the  Member  States  should  also  carry  out  consultations  and  impact
assessments when they exercise their right of initiative and make legislative proposals under

34

In accordance with Directive 98/34/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 June 1998
laying  down  a  procedure  for  the  provision  of  information  in  the  field  of  technical  standards  and
regulations, OJ L 204 of 21.7.98 (modified by Directive 98/48/EC of the European Parliament and of
the Council of 20 July 1998, OJ L 217 of 5.08.1998).

17

                                                
Title  VI  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union  and  Title  IV  of  the  Treaty  establishing  the
European Communities.

Remit: Member States

Implementation: gradually from 2003 onwards

4. 

DEVELOPING A COMMON LEGISLATIVE CULTURE WITHIN THE UNION

The specific measures proposed in this Action Plan must be backed up by coordination work,
in accordance with the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council.

It is necessary to decompartmentalise the developmental cycle of legislative acts and make it
easier to follow the progress of an act from its drafting by the Commission to its adoption by
the  legislator  and,  from  there,  to  its  adoption  and  application  by  the  Member  States.  This
requirement must also be of benefit to members of the public.

In this context, the Commission plans to take the following action:

Action: Creating a legislative network between the institutions and the Member States

The Commission proposes that a legislative network be created at two levels: on the one hand,
between  the  Community  institutions  and,  on  the  other,  between  the  Community,  as
represented by the Commission, and the Member States.

Thus the Commission, the European Parliament and the Council, which share responsibility
for the quality  of legislation at Community level, should set up, on the basis  of  the  existing
working part on interinstitutional cooperation, a permanent mechanism in order to implement
this Action Plan and to ensure the quality of legislation. The mandate of this network should
be defined in the future interinstitutional agreement.

Alongside  these  measures,  steps  should  be  taken  to  break  down  the  divisions  between  the
Community and national levels by improving coordination and the exchange of information
between  the  Commission  and  national  authorities.  This  should  be  done  by  appointing
"transposition and application" correspondents to make it easier to monitor the transposition
of Community law;  by  ensuring ongoing evaluation  of  how  directives  and  regulations  have
been  applied  in  practice;  by  improving  feedback  from  Member  States;  and  by  exchanging
good  practice  such  as  legislative  impact  assessments  and  consultation  standards.  In  this
respect, the Commission and the Member States should work together with a view to pooling
current  rules  and  practices  and  developing  a  joint  approach  to  monitoring  and  applying
Community legislation.

Remit: Community institutions and Member States

Implementation: 2003

.

18

Action: Annual assessment of the quality of legislation

In the annual report on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality35,
the Commission will include an assessment of the implementation of the Action Plan and then
of the application by the institutions and Member States of approved principles and action. In
drafting this report, the Commission will be supported by its internal network and will draw
on the discussions within the interinstitutional network.

With  a  view  to  achieving  positive  convergence  and  the  exchange  of  good  practice,  the
Commission  will,  by  the  same  token,  draw  up  national  reports  on  a  particular  group  of
countries in turn.

Remit: Commission

Implementation: 2003

.

Action: Public access to legislation

The  Commission,  together  with  the  other  Community  institutions,  will  improve  the
accessibility  and  transparency  of  Community  legislation,  whether  in  preparation  or  already
adopted,  by  expanding  public  access  to  EUR-Lex36.  This  website,  which  acts  as  a  single
portal, should enable members of the public to access documents easily throughout the entire
Community  decision-making  process.  Other  options,  such  as  Internet  forums,  could  also  be
explored. The traditional info-centres  and  contact  points for Community information  should
also be mobilised more widely.

Remit: Institutions

Implementation: 2003

35

36

Cf. Article 9 of the Protocol on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, ibid.
http://www.europa.eu.int/eur-lex/en/index.html

19