Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament - Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs in the European Union {SEC(2005) 175}
Date: 2005-03-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: drafting of EU law, economic growth, employment policy, simplification of legislation, social policy

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 16.3.2005 
COM(2005) 97 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs in the European Union 

{SEC(2005) 175} 

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 

Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs in the European Union 

The challenges facing the  European  Union and identified in the relaunched Lisbon  Strategy 
are by now well known. The disappointing economic performance of the EU makes meeting 
these challenges much more difficult and led the Commission to propose making growth and 
employment  the  focus  of  a  revised  Lisbon  strategy.  Growth  and  employment  will  not  be 
stimulated by carrying on as before. The EU and Member States need to further develop their 
approach to regulation to ensure that the defence of public interests is achieved in a way that 
supports and does not hinder the development of economic activity.  

The European Union has, over the years, developed a sophisticated body of legislation which 
continues  to  deliver  economic  development,  environmental  protection  and  improvements  of 
social standards, notably through the completion of the internal market. As progress towards 
these objectives is being achieved, it has also become clear that the way in which we regulate 
has  considerable  impact  on  whether  we  meet  these  objectives  efficiently.  The  EU’s  better 
regulation policy aims to improve regulation, to better design regulation so as to increase the 
benefits  for  citizens,  and  to  reinforce  the  respect  and  the  effectiveness  of  the  rules,  and  to 
minimise economic costs - in line with the EU’s proportionality and subsidiarity principles.  

In the context of the renewed Lisbon Strategy, refocused on growth and jobs, the Commission 
announced  its  intention  to  launch  a  comprehensive  initiative  to  ensure  that  the  regulatory 
framework in the EU meets the requirements of the twenty-first century. This initiative builds 
on  the  Commission’s  2002  initiative  for  better  regulation  and  reinforces  the  way  in  which 
better  regulation  contributes  to  achieving  growth  and  jobs,  while  continuing  to  take  into 
account  the  social  and  environmental  objectives  and  the  benefits  for  citizens  and  national 
administrations  in  terms  of  improved  governance1.  This  also  means  that,  both  for  existing 
legislation  and  for  new  policy  initiatives,  the  extent  of  the  legislator’s  intervention  should 
remain proportionate to the political objectives pursued. The present Communication launches 
the  initiative  announced  in  the  mid-term  review  and,  while  ensuring  coherence  with  the 
ongoing action for better regulation, proposes three key action lines: 

•  By further promoting the design and application of better regulation tools at the 
EU  level,  notably  in  so  far  as  impact  assessments  and  simplification  are 
concerned. 

•  By  working  more  closely  with  Member  States  to  ensure  that  better  regulation 
principles are applied consistently throughout the EU by all regulators. Action at 
EU  level  alone  will  not  be  enough:  the  transposition  of  EU  legislation  by  the 
Member States and national regulatory initiatives have a direct effect as well, not 
just on national administrations and on citizens but also on businesses, particularly 
SMEs, from across the Union.  

1 

The  Commission  will  shortly  be  presenting  a  Communication  setting  out  progress  achieved  in 
implementing the Action Plan of 2002 - COM(2002) 278, 5.6.2002. 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
                                                 
•  By  reinforcing  the  constructive  dialogue  between  all  regulators  at  the  EU  and 

national levels and with stakeholders. 

1. 

INTRODUCTION  

A.  Better  regulation  is  crucial  for  promoting  competitiveness  both  at  EU  level 
and in the Member States 

Over the past few years, European leaders and the Commission have put increasing 
emphasis  on  streamlining  the  EU’s  regulatory  environment  in  order  to  increase  its 
effectiveness.  A  range  of  initiatives  have  been  launched  by  the  Commission, 
European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  codify,  consolidate  and  simplify  existing 
legislation and evaluate better the likely economic, social and environmental impacts 
of new regulatory proposals. 

This Communication is a direct follow-up to the mid-term review2, focusing on the 
priority of improving European and national legislation in order to promote European 
competitiveness  and  thus  stimulate  growth  and  employment.  Indeed,  better 
regulation,  which  is  about  ensuring  the  quality  of  the  regulatory  framework,  offers 
win-win opportunities. Better regulation will help make the European Union a more 
attractive  place  not  only  to  invest  in  but  also  for  citizens  to  work  in  since  it  has  a 
significant  positive  impact  on  the  framework  conditions  for  economic  growth, 
employment  and  productivity  by  improving  the  quality  of  legislation.  This  creates 
the  right  incentives  for  business,  cuts  unnecessary  costs  and  removes  obstacles  to 
adaptability  and  innovation.  It  also  ensures  legal  certainty  and  by  that  efficient 
application  and  enforcement  throughout  the  European  Union.  In  addition,  it  allows 
that  social  and  environmental  objectives  are  attained  without  disproportionate 
administrative  costs.  As  a  complement  to  EU  action,  Member  States  should  also 
pursue their own better regulation initiatives. 

This  Communication  intends  to  raise  political  awareness  about  the  importance  of 
implementing  the  Commission’s  2002  Better  Regulation  Action  Plan3  as  collective 
commitment  is  required,  not  only  from  the  Commission  and/or  from  the  EU 
legislators,  which  are  already  confirmed  by  an  Inter-institutional  Agreement  (see 
below), but also, and especially so, from the Member States themselves, which will 
have  to  demonstrate  their  clear  commitment  to  better  regulation  principles  through 
their National Lisbon Programmes (action plans). 

This  commitment  at  all  levels  is  absolutely  essential.  The  quality  of  Europe’s 
regulatory  environment  does  not  only  depend  on  what  is  done  at  EU  level. 
International  agreements  have  a  bearing  on  EU  legislation,  and,  indeed,  within  an 
internal market any rules - EU or national - have the potential to affect the economic 
activities of any EU business or citizen. It calls for a comprehensive response. 

Therefore,  in  order  to  guarantee  that  legislation  is  designed  and  implemented 
efficiently,  under  a  common  strategic  approach,  Member  States  must  increase  their 

2 
3 

COM(2005) 24, 2.2.2005. 
COM(2002) 278, 5.6.2002. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
efforts in promoting better regulation, in parallel with actions already put in place at 
the EU level, so that the issue is tackled in a comprehensive manner. 

B. 

Importance has been recognised by all Institutions 

An Inter-institutional Agreement (IIA) on Better Law-Making4, agreed in December 
2003 by the three EU institutions (European Parliament, Council and Commission,), 
establishes  a  global  strategy  for  better  lawmaking  throughout  the  entire  EU 
legislative process. While recalling the commitments made by the Commission in its 
Better Regulation Action Plan, the IIA sets out the commitments of Parliament and 
Council  in  favour  of  better  lawmaking.  Its  main  elements  include  improving  inter-
institutional  coordination  and  transparency,  providing  a  stable  framework  for  ‘soft 
law’ instruments5 that should facilitate their future use, increasing the use of impact 
assessment in Community decision-making, and having Parliament and the Council 
modify their working methods to accelerate the adoption of simplification proposals. 

Furthermore, in December 2004, the Ministers of Finance and Economic Affairs of 
six Member States6, representing their countries in the ECOFIN and Competitiveness 
Councils,  signed  a  letter  aimed  at  lending  new  impetus  to  the  process  of  better 
regulation.  This  initiative  followed  the  earlier  Four  Presidencies’  Joint  Initiative  of 
January 2004. The Commission welcomes these  initiatives, as well as other similar 
calls  for  action,  which  provide  strong  political  support  for  the  improvement  of  the 
quality  of  legislation  in  Europe  and  believes  that  it  provides  an  important  building 
block in further developing a robust agenda for better regulation across Europe. 

2. 

REINFORCING THE MEANS OF ACHIEVING BETTER REGULATION AT EU LEVEL 

A simpler and better regulatory environment will take time to materialize. Although 
the EU has achieved much in a relatively short period of time, these are but the first 
steps  in  what  must  be  a  permanent  effort.  However,  given  the  need  to  strengthen 
economic growth and job creation identified in the Commission’s Lisbon Mid-Term 
Review,  this  Communication  aims  at  arriving  at  a  step  change  in  the  rigour  with 
which  this  approach  is  pursued.  The  policy  objectives  that  we  pursue  need  a 
comprehensive  legal  framework  to  foster  growth  and  jobs  by  ensuring  free 
movement  in  an  integrated  internal  market  while  taking  fully  into  account 
environmental  and  social  concerns.  The  Commission  believes  this  can  be  achieved 
by  building  on  the  existing  framework  for  better  regulation  and  by  injecting  more 
commitment  and  urgency  into  striking  the right  balance  between  the  policy  agenda 
and  the  economic  costs  of  regulation.  This  includes  a  careful  analysis  on  the 
appropriate  regulatory  approach,  in  particular  whether  (legislation  is  preferable  for 
the relevant sector and problem, or whether alternatives such as co-regulation or self-
regulation  should  be  considered.  For  co-regulation  and  self-regulation,  the  Inter-
institutional  Agreement  on  Better  Law-making  provides  agreed  definitions,  criteria 
and procedures. Overall this will reinforce the effective application of the principles 
of proportionality and subsidiarity. 

4 
5 
6 

OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 1. 
‘Soft law’ instruments refers to co-regulation and self-regulation. 
The original four (Ireland, Netherlands, Luxemburg and UK) were joined by Austria and Finland – the 
Member States that will hold the Presidency in 2006. 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
A. 

Impact Assessment 

The  Commission’s  commitment  to  integrated  impact  assessment  is  based  on  the 
principle of sustainable development and is designed to allow policy makers to make 
choices  on  the  basis  of  careful  analysis  of  the  potential  economic,  social  and 
environmental impacts of new legislation. This integrated approach is based upon 
the  principle  of  a  thorough  and  balanced  appraisal  of  all  impacts  and  allows  the 
presentation of a comprehensive analysis and the identification of trade-offs, where 
relevant. A key idea is that the depth and scope of an impact assessment, and hence 
the resources allocated to it, are proportionate to the expected nature of the proposal 
and its likely impacts. Finally, Impact Assessments must go hand in hand with wide-
ranging  consultation  allowing  for  sufficient  time  to  receive  the  views  of  all 
stakeholders who wish to contribute to the shaping of new rules. 

While  the  existing  impact  assessment  tool  provides  a  solid  basis,  the  Commission 
believes  that  the  assessment  of  economic  impacts  must  be  strengthened  so  as  to 
contribute to the objectives of the renewed Lisbon strategy. Deepening the economic 
pillar  of  impact  assessment  does  not  compromise  the  importance  of  ‘sustainable 
development’  and  the  integrated  approach,  which  remains  the  basis  of  the 
Commission’s  approach.  Deepening  the  economic  analysis,  which  also  includes 
competition aspects, should improve the quality of the assessment of the true impact 
of all proposals. This will, therefore, make a significant contribution to strengthening 
competitiveness including effective competition while continuing to properly assess 
social and environmental consequences of proposed measures. This approach will be 
confirmed  and  translated  in  the  context  of  the  general  update  of  the  Impact 
Assessment  Guidelines  to  be  applied  from  April  2005.  Moreover,  the  following 
actions are deemed necessary: 

•  The  Commission  has  decided  that,  as  a  rule,  initiatives  set  out  in  its  Legislative 
and  Work  Programme  2005  –  key  legislative  proposals  as  well  as  the  most 
important  cross-cutting  policy-defining  non-legislative  proposals  -  should  be  the 
subject of an integrated impact assessment7. Transparency will be enhanced by the 
publication of Impact Assessment Roadmaps, which give a first indication of the 
main  areas  to  be  assessed  and  the  planning  of  the  subsequent  analyses.  The 
Roadmaps  for  the  2005  Legislative  and  Work  Programme  are  already  publicly 
available8.  The  Commission  intends  to  explore  ways  for  an  earlier  and  more 
strategic  use  of  Roadmaps  in  the  planning  and  programming  of  Commission 
initiatives,  especially  in  terms  of  public  consultation.  The  Commission  will  thus 
ensure that legislative proposals are fully assessed for all their potential impacts. 

•  The  Commission  will  explore  how  to  better  integrate  the  measurement  of 
administrative costs in its integrated impact assessments as well as the possibility 
for developing a common approach to assessing administrative costs between EU 
institutions  and  Member  States.  The  importance  of  measuring  the  administrative 

7 

8 

Acts that fall under the executive powers of the Commission (for instance competition decisions or acts 
which  scope  is  limited  to  the  internal  sphere  of  the  Commission)  are  normally  not  subject  to  impact 
assessment. 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/secretariat_general/impact/practice.htm 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
costs  has  been  underlined  by  the  ECOFIN  and  the  European  Council9.  For  this 
purpose,  the  Commission  is  launching  a  pilot  phase10,  aimed  at  testing  methods 
for  the  quantitative  assessment  of  such  burdens  associated  with  existing  and 
proposed Community legislation. Initial results will be available in the autumn of 
2005. After completion of the exploratory work, the Commission will determine 
whether and how to integrate this aspect more fully in its standard methodology. 

•  The  Commission  will  reinforce  the  early  external  validation  of  the  methodology 
for  its  impact  assessments.  To  this  end,  the  Commission  will  launch,  by  early 
2006,  a  comprehensive  independent  evaluation  of  the  Impact  Assessment 
system as it has evolved and been implemented since 2002 and, in that context, 
draw  on  external  expertise  to  advise  it  on  the  methodology  of  its  impact 
assessments  (see  section  4).  In  parallel,  it  is  important  to  reinforce  the  quality 
control by Commission departments of impact assessments before releasing these 
for inter-departmental scrutiny. 

•  Impact  assessments,  at  the  European  level,  are  not  only  the  responsibility  of  the 
Commission.  The  Inter-institutional  Agreement  on  Better  Law-making 
acknowledges  the  importance  of  impact  assessments  in  improving  the  quality  of 
Community  legislation  and  also  sets  out11  that,  where  the  co-decision  procedure 
applies,  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  may  have  impact  assessments 
carried out prior to the adoption of any substantive amendment they make12. The 
Commission believes that it is vital that this be done and hopes to soon agree with 
the  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  on  the  key  elements  of  a  common 
approach  to  assessments  carried  out  at  the  different  stages  in  the  legislative 
process. 

B. 

Screening of pending legislative proposals 

The  Commission  intends  to  carry  out  from  2005  a  more  thorough  assessment  of 
pending proposals than was previously the case. To that end, the Commission intends 
to  screen  proposals  that  are  pending  before  the  Council/Parliament  with  regard  to 
their general relevance, their impact on competitiveness and other effects. This could 
lead  the  Commission  to  consider  the  possible  modification,  replacement  or  even 
withdrawal  of  such  pending  proposals.  This  action  will  also  take  into  account  the 
views  of  the  enforcers  and  the  users  of  legislation  and  of  stakeholders  in  general 
wherever possible. The screening will focus on proposals adopted before 1 January 
2004, and in particular those 

- Which have not made substantial progress in the legislative process for a significant 
period of time; 

9 
10 
11 
12 

Ecofin Council of 21 October 2004 and European Council of 4-5 November 2004. 
See SEC(2005) 175. The pilot projects will include areas such as statistics and construction products. 
OJ C 321, 31.12.2003, p. 4, point 30. 
The first such impact assessment took place in 2004 on an amendment of the Council to the Batteries 
Directive  proposed  by  the  Commission.  Overall,  Member  States  welcomed  this  pilot  process,  which 
will be formally assessed in 2005 by the Luxembourg presidency. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
- For which impact assessments were not carried out, or whose impact assessments 
have  revealed  substantial  weaknesses  in  the  light  of  a  significant  number  of 
converging contributions from the co-legislators, stakeholders and/or experts; 

-  Where  substantial  new  scientific  evidence,  market  developments  or  societal 
changes justify a review of the approach initially chosen. 

C. 

Simplification of existing EU legislation 

In  February  2003,  the  Commission  launched  a  framework  of  actions  to  reduce  the 
volume of the Community acquis, to improve the accessibility of legislation and to 
simplify existing legislation. On this basis, the Commission has developed a rolling 
programme  for  simplification13  and  presented  about  30  initiatives  which  have 
simplification impacts for economic operators, citizens and national administrations. 
In 
institutions 
acknowledged  the  importance  of  simplifying  existing  EU  legislation  whilst 
maintaining the substance of Community policies. 

the  Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  Better  Lawmaking, 

the 

In  response  to  suggestions  from  the  Member  States  to  identify  EU  legislation  that 
might  benefit  from  simplification,  a  Council  priority  list  of  around  20  items  of 
legislation  (grouped  into  15  priorities)  was  agreed  at  the  November  2004 
Competitiveness  Council.  The  Commission  has  already  brought  forward  proposals 
for three of the priorities and intends to reply to the others as soon as possible. The 
Commission  will  seek  to  examine  whether  additional  legislative  measures  ripe  for 
simplification  can  be  identified  from  among  the  proposals  made  by  Member  States 
and accepted by the Council but which were not included in the priority list. 

Enhancing  the  contribution  of  better  regulation  to  growth  and  competitiveness  also 
calls  for  an  assessment  of  the  continued  relevance  and  proportionality  of  EU 
legislation and, in particular, the consideration of the real and cumulative impact in 
the Member States, once they implement and apply EU legislation. The Commission 
proposes to take the following action: 

•  To 

for 

that 

reinforce 

legislation 

identifying 

the  mechanisms 

requires 
simplification;  that  is  legislation  which  careful  assessment  shows  to  be 
disproportionately  burdensome  and  complex  for  EU  citizens  and  businesses  in 
relation  to  the  public  interests  that  the  legislation  aims  to  safeguard.  Evidence 
from  infringement  procedures  will  also  be  considered  in  this  context.  The 
assessment  will  involve  consulting  lawmakers,  regulatory  enforcers,  businesses, 
citizens and stakeholders in general as to which pieces of legislation should be the 
prime  targets  for  simplification.  When  such  an  assessment  clearly  confirms  that 
public interests might be equally well served by simpler means, the modification 
or repeal of the legislation should be considered. This action will aim at seeking to 
identify  significant  improvements  in  a  broad  range  of  key  policy  areas  and  its 
success will depend on a strong political commitment by all regulators to produce 
concrete results. 

13 

“Updating and simplifying the Community Acquis” - COM(2003) 71 du 11.2.2003. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
•  The  Commission  will  develop  integrated  sectoral  action  plans  for  simplification 
where  appropriate.  In  some  sectors,  such  as  fisheries,  agriculture  and  technical 
regulations  for  products,  the  Commission  has  already  begun  to  develop  such 
action plans, which allow more flexibility, coherence and continuity in our efforts 
towards  simplification.  Results  in  these  areas  might  already  be  seen  in  2005.  A 
communication  reflecting  on  these  issues  will  be  presented  in  October  2005, 
followed  by  the  launching  of  a  new  phase  of  the  Commission’s  simplification 
programme in 2006/200714. 

•  Promoting  the  use  of  European  standards  as  technical  support  to  European 

legislation or as alternatives to legislation. 

3. 

REINFORCING BETTER REGULATION AT THE MEMBER STATES’ LEVEL 

A.  Better Regulation in the Member States 

Recognising  the  link  between  better  regulation  and  achieving  stronger  growth  and 
more and better jobs, the Commission has already proposed that “Better Regulation” 
becomes  part  of  the  national  “Lisbon”  programmes  and  recommends  that  Member 
States report on their current activities, and those actions that they intend to take. The 
Commission  will  attach  great  importance  to  progress  in  this  area  as  part  of  its 
evaluation  of  economic  reforms  in  the  Union  and  will  report  on  this  matter  in  its 
Annual Progress Report under the proposed new governance structure of the Lisbon 
strategy. 

Better regulation is not a matter for the European Union alone. It cannot be achieved 
only  by  action  at  EU  level.  There  are  some  Member  States  where  legislative 
proposals are already subjected to an impact assessment, but not all Member States 
have such a system in place. The Commission recommends that all  Member States 
establish  national  Better  Regulation  strategies  and,  in  particular,  impact  assessment 
systems  for  the  integrated  assessment  of  economic,  social  and  environmental 
impacts, along with the supporting structures adapted to their national circumstances. 
Such national systems would allow due account to be taken of the full impact of new 
legislative  proposals,  including  their  impact  on  competitiveness  as  requested  in  the 
Lisbon  Action  Plan15.  In  addition,  national  sectoral  enquiries  are  useful  tools  for 
improving the quality of existing national legislation with a view to giving it a more 
pro-competitive  orientation,  while  retaining  the  basis  policy  objective  which  is 
pursued16.  The  Commission  will  encourage  Member  States  to  aim  for  a  scope  of 
coverage  for  impact  assessment  which  is  similar  to  that  of  Commission  integrated 
impact  assessments.  When  drafting  new  national  legislation,  Member  States  are 
invited  to  take  into  account,  as  much  as  possible,  the  consequences  of  such 
legislation on the internal market and for other Member States. 

14 

15 

16 

The Framework for Action launched by the Commission in February 2003 expired by the end of 2004 
and orientations for the Commission’s future simplification work therefore need to be defined. 
See  page  14  of  SEC(2005)  192  which  accompanied  the  mid-term  review  of  the  Lisbon  Strategy,  see 
note 2 above. 
Idem. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
B. 

Simplification of national legislation 

Simplification of national measures is the responsibility of the Member States. The 
Commission recommends that Member States set up simplification programmes and 
supporting  structures  adapted  to  their  national  circumstances.  Exchange  of  best 
practices and peer reviews on this issue is strongly encouraged. The Commission will 
also  encourage  such  simplification  when  scrutinising  national  measures  for 
compliance  with  Community  law,  notably  in  the  contexts  of  the  implementation  of 
Community  directives,  infringement  proceedings  under  Article  226  EC  and  the 
notification of new technical regulations under Directive 98/34/EC17. 

In harmonised areas, to improve the timely and correct transposition of directives and 
to  avoid  ‘gold-plating’  (the  introduction  of  procedures  that  are  not  automatically 
required by a directive), the process of preventive dialogue between the Commission 
services  and  Member  States18  is  being  further  developed  to  discuss  how  best  to 
implement measures where such problems seem likely to occur. 

In non-harmonized areas, while eliminating provisions that are or would be contrary 
to  Community  law,  infringement  proceedings  and  the  preventive  controls  of 
Directive  98/34/EC  should  help  to  improve  the  quality  of  national  regulation,  in 
terms  of  their  enhanced  transparency,  readability  and  efficiency.  In  relation  to  the 
free  movement  of  goods,  they  enable  the  Commission  to  ensure  that  national 
legislation permits economic operators to reap the benefits of mutual recognition19. 

The  transparency  of  the  notification  procedure  of  Directive  98/34/EC20  allows  not 
only the Commission and other Member States to intervene, but also any interested 
stakeholders. The Commission will encourage Member States to exchange views on 
the  regulations  they  have  already  adopted  and  on  best  practices  and  regulatory 
approaches. In newly regulated sectors (closely linked to scientific and technological 
development), the Commission will expand the use of this Directive to influence the 
development  of  national  rules.  This  would  strengthen  the  application  of  the 
subsidiarity  principle,  help  to  improve  national  provisions  and  provide  increased 
evidence of any need for harmonisation. 

17 

18 
19 

20 

Directive  98/34/EC  obliges  Member  States  to  notify  in  draft  any  new  technical  regulation  relating  to 
products  and  information  society  services  in  the  non-harmonised  area.  The  aim  is  to  prevent  the 
introduction of new obstacles to the internal market in these sectors. It is planned to extend the scope of 
the Directive to other services. 
“Better Monitoring of the Application of Community Law” - COM(2002) 725, 16.5.2003. 
To a considerable extent, the principle of mutual recognition – under which there is a presumption that a 
product lawfully manufactured or marketed in one Member State should be capable of being marketed 
in all other Member States - is able to cope with hindrances to the free movement of goods caused by 
divergences  in  the  legislation  of  the  Member  States.  This  applies  to  national  rules  in  the  non-
harmonised area and also in the harmonised area, where implementing rules go beyond the minimum 
requirements of Community directives without constituting non-compliance. 
This legislation provides a “transparency mechanism” allowing the Commission and Member States to 
examine draft technical rules notified by a Member State before they enter into force in order to identify 
possible infringements of Treaty rules or the creation of new barriers in the internal market.  

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
4. 

ADVICE FROM REGULATORY EXPERTS AND STAKEHOLDERS 

To facilitate the development of Better Regulation measures at both national and EU 
levels,  the  Commission  will  set  up  in  the  course  of  2005  a  group  of  high-level 
national  regulatory  experts.  The  mandate  of  this  group  will  be  to  advise  the 
Commission  on  better  regulation  issues  in  general,  in  particular  simplification  and 
impact assessment, taking into account all relevant aspects, including implementation 
and enforcement questions (given the fact that legislation is normally executed at the 
Member State level). The group should look at both EU and national legislation and 
would,  therefore,  provide  an  efficient  interface  between  the  Commission  and  key 
governmental  authorities.  It  will  aim  at  improving  the  regulatory  environment  for 
enterprises,  industry,  consumers,  the  social  partners  and  citizens  at  large,  allowing 
for  social  and  environmental  objectives  to  be  delivered  cost-effectively  and  at 
contributing  to  the  spread  of  best  practices  and  know-how  within  the  EU  on  better 
regulation issues.  

Through  this  high-level  group,  the  Commission  will  strengthen  cooperation  with 
Member  States  by  assisting  them  in  their  initiatives  for  fostering  national 
implementation of better regulation (in particular, indicators of regulatory quality and 
peer  reviews  of  regulatory  management  capacities  in  Member  States).  Hereby,  the 
quality of implementation of EU legislation at Member States level will be improved, 
for example by a joint examination of the extent to which EU legislation is subject to 
so-called  “gold-plating”  by  Member  States (i.e.  the  introduction  of  requirements  or 
procedures in the course of the transposition of EU legislation which are not required 
by  that  legislation).  The  group  will  also  allow  the  Commission  to  use  the 
implementation experience on the ground in the design of future legislation. 

The Commission intends to discuss in this group the development of a coherent set 
of common indicators to monitor progress as regards the quality of the regulatory 
environment both at EU level and in the Member States themselves, as a basis for 
benchmarking.  The  Commission  will  encourage  Member  States  to  adopt  such 
indicators to  define targets and priorities  for  their better regulation programmes for 
the  coming  years  in  their  national  Lisbon  programmes.  In  this  context,  the 
Commission also intends to work with Member States to enhance the comparability 
and compatibility between national programmes. 

Another  network,  independent  from  the  previous  one,  will  be  set  up  to  advise  the 
Commission,  composed  of  experts  in  better  regulation  issues,  including  academics 
and  practitioners  from  the  economic,  social  and  environmental  fields.  It  will  allow 
the Commission to call on external expertise and advice on technical issues. It may 
be  invited  on  a  case  by  case  basis  to  advise  on  the  scientific  rigour  of  the 
methodology  chosen  for  specific  impact  assessments.  This  will  enable  the 
Commission to take a better informed decision on the shape and scope of its impact 
assessment. 

It  follows  from  what  precedes  that  these  groups  will  advise  on  general  and 
methodological  issues,  but  that  they  will  not  add  an  additional  level  of  systematic 
screening of individual draft legislative proposals. 

Each commissioner will create a public better regulation window in the websites of 
the  services  under  his  or  her  responsibility.  This  will  give  businesses,  NGOs  and 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
citizens  the  opportunity  to  identify  administrative  or  bureaucratic  burdens  resulting 
from legislation under their respective areas of responsibility so that these views can 
be  taken  into  account.  These  windows  will  be  advertised  through  links  on  the 
Commission’s central website. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
5. 

CONCLUSION  

The  efficient  functioning  of  markets  and  enterprises  is  in  the  interest  of  public 
authorities, businesses, citizens and the social partners. It is increasingly determined 
by the regulatory frameworks in which they operate. European legislation takes place 
in  areas  where  competences  are  shared  with  Member  States  (such  as  the  internal 
market, social and environmental policies, consumer protection) or in areas where its 
role  consists  rather  in  coordinating  and  complementing  national  actions  (such  as 
health  and  industry  policies).  Therefore,  better  regulation  initiatives  must  be 
enhanced  at  all  administrative  levels,  and  Member  States  have  an  important 
responsibility to foster better regulation in areas where European competitiveness is 
at stake. 

With this in mind, the Commission will: 

•  Ensure  that  future  legislative  proposals  are  fully  assessed  for  all  their  potential 

impacts; 

•  Screen proposals that are pending before the European Parliament and the Council 
with  regard  to  their  impact  on  competitiveness  and  other  impacts,  and  take  the 
appropriate decisions;  

•  Propose further simplification of existing EU legislation, taking into account the 
views of stakeholders on the basis of a communication planned for October 2005; 

•  Encourage Member States to further develop better regulation at their own level, 
through 
improved 

when  drafting  new  national 
simplification  of  existing  national 
implementation of EU legislation at national level; 

(impact  assessment), 

legislation  and 

legislation 

through 

•  Involve  Member  States,  by  setting  up  a  group  of  high  level  national  regulatory 
experts,  to  advise  the  Commission  and  to  develop  a  common  better  regulation 
agenda; 

•  Create better regulation websites to allow input from stakeholders; 

•  Improve  the  intrinsic  quality  of  the  impact  assessment  of  EU  legislation  by 
ensuring  on  a  case  by  case  basis  the  ex  ante  validation  by  external  scientific 
experts of the methodology used for certain impact assessments; 

•  Review the results of the measures set out in this Communication at the latest in 

2007. 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
ANNEXES 

ANNEX 1 

Overview of Better Regulation measures implemented at EU level 

Over  the  last  four  years,  the  EU  has  launched  a  broad  strategy  to  improve  the  regulatory 
environment and thus provide a more effective, efficient and transparent regulatory system for 
the benefit of citizens and reinforce competitiveness, growth and sustainable development. 

First, the institutions have taken the steps necessary to comply with Declaration 39 adopted by 
the  Heads  of  State  and  Government  at  the  Intergovernmental  Conference  in  Amsterdam  in 
1997.  They  adopted  drafting  guidance  in  the  Inter-institutional  Agreement  of  22  December 
1998 on common guidelines for the quality of drafting of Community legislation. They have 
ensured  that  those  guidelines  are  applied  by  taking  the  necessary  internal  organisation 
measures as required by Declaration 39. A practical guide on drafting has been made widely 
available in official languages to all those within and outside the institutions who are involved 
in  the  drafting  process.  Internal  procedures  in  the  Commission  in  particular  have  been 
reorganised  to  enable  the  staff  of  the  Legal  Service  to  improve  the  quality  of  proposed 
legislation  at  an  early  stage  by  checking  its  lawfulness  and  compliance  with  all  the  formal 
rules,  by  structuring  the  rules  clearly  and  correctly  and  by  revising  the  drafting.  The  Legal 
Service offers training in legislative drafting to the staff of other Commission departments and 
organises seminars to promote awareness of the need for good-quality legislation. Translation 
services  also  play  a  role  in  drafting  original  legislative  texts,  so  as  to  ensure  clear, 
unambiguous texts and coherent terminology. 

in  mind 

On  a  broader  point  of  view,  guided  by  the  reactions  to  the  Commission’s  White  paper  on 
European  Governance21,  while  bearing 
the 
intergovernmental  “Mandelkern  Group”22,  the  Commission  proposed  in  June  2002  a 
comprehensive  Action  Plan  for  ‘simplifying  and  improving  the  regulatory  environment’23. 
This  Action  Plan was in line with the aim set out at the Gothenburg European Council that 
“policy-makers must identify likely spill-over – good and bad – onto other policy areas and 
take  them  into  account.  Careful  assessment  of  the  full  effects  of  a  policy  proposal  must 
include  estimates  of  its  economic,  environmental  and  social  impacts  inside  and  outside  the 
EU”24.  This  Action  Plan  represents  the  most  comprehensive  and  ambitious  efforts  yet  in 
pursuit of these objectives. 

recommendations  of 

the 

To ensure high-quality new legislation, a new Impact Assessment system was introduced to 
integrate  and  replace  all  previous  single-sector  assessments,  as  un-integrated  analyses  had 
been found to have little effect on the quality of policy-making. It requires the Commission to 
systematically  assess,  on  an  equal  basis,  the  likely  economic  (including  competitiveness), 
environmental and social implications of its proposals and to highlight the potential trade-offs. 
This new impact assessment system aims at helping the Commission to improve the quality 
and  transparency  of  its  proposals  and  to  identify  balanced  solutions  consistent  with 
Community policy objectives. The depth and scope of the assessment respects the principle 
of proportionate analysis, i.e. more Impact Assessment resources will be allocated to those 

21 
22 
23 
24 

COM(2001) 727, 5.12.2001. 
Adopted in November 2001. See http://ue.eu.int/pressData/en/misc/DOC.68853.pdf 
COM(2002) 278, 5.6.2002. 
A sustainable Europe for a better world, A European Union Strategy for Sustainable Development. 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
proposals that can be expected to have the most significant impacts. Transparency is ensured 
by the publication of the Impact Assessment Roadmaps, giving a preliminary indication of 
the  main  areas  to  be  assessed  and  the  planning  of  subsequent  analyses.  Instruments  which 
provide  an  alternative  approach  to  legislation,  such  as  co-regulation  and  self-regulation, 
have to be considered when assessing options. 

Since the system’s introduction in early 2003, more than 50 extended Impact Assessments of 
proposals have been completed. In 2005, all initiatives in the Commission’s Legislative and 
Work Programme25 (around 100) will be accompanied by an impact assessment. 

As an integral part of the impact assessment procedure, the Commission has also adopted26 a 
set of “Minimum standards for consultation of interested parties”. These minimum standards 
are  intended  to  enhance  transparency,  to  widen  consultation  practices  and  to  ensure  better 
information,  participation  and  dialogue.  The  Commission  has  also  adopted  guidelines  for 
collecting and using expert advice to provide effective expertise in developing policies and to 
ensure transparency as to how the Commission uses external advice27. 

The  Commission  took  the  initiative  in  early  2005  to  launch  a  pilot  phase  with  a  view  to 
developing  a  common  approach  to  measure  administrative  costs.  The  results  of  the  pilot 
phase are expected by the end of 2005. Once the results of the pilot phase have been assessed, 
the  Commission  will  decide  on  whether  and  how  to  best  integrate  the  approach  into  the 
impact  assessment  method  and  examine  how  it  could  help  in  process  of  simplification  of 
existing legislation. 

To streamline and simplify the regulatory environment, the Commission launched in 2003 an 
ambitious programme28 to up-date and simplify existing EU legislation. This aims to reduce 
the  substance  of  EU  legislation  as  well  as  to  reduce  its  volume  (through  consolidation, 
codification  and  removal  of  obsolete  legislation)  and  to  provide  more  reliable  and  user-
friendly  organisation  and  presentation  of  the  acquis.  Since  February  2003,  the  Commission 
has presented 30 proposals with simplification impacts, 10 of which have been adopted, the 
remainder  being  still  pending  before  the  European  Parliament  and  Council.  The  Prodi 
Commission’s target of a 25% reduction in the volume of the Community acquis by 2005 has 
not  been  achieved,  mainly  because  the  codification  programme  has  been  delayed  owing  to 
translation bottlenecks in the new Member States. In recent years, the Commission carried out 
several  rounds  of  withdrawals  of  pending  proposals  that  were  no  longer  topical  (in  2004, 
about 100 pending proposals were withdrawn). During 2005-2009, the Commission intends to 
carry out such withdrawal exercises each year. 

The Commission has also given priority to improving transposition and application of EU 
law by the Member States. In a Communication of 2002, it set out an action plan on working 
more proactively with the Member States to reduce the number and seriousness of cases. 

25 

26 
27 

28 

Acts that fall under the executive powers of the Commission (for instance competition decisions or acts 
whose  scope  is  limited  to  the  internal  sphere  of  the  Commission)  are  normally  not  subject  to  impact 
assessment. 
COM(2002) 704, 11.12.2002. 
COM(2002)  713,  11.12.2002:  Communication  on  the  collection  and  use  of  expertise;  Principles  and 
guidelines: “Improving the knowledge base for better policies”. 
‘Updating and simplifying the Community acquis’ – COM(2003) 71, 11.2.2003. 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Recognising  that  better  regulation  requires  an  effort  throughout  the  regulatory  cycle,  in 
December  2003  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council  and  the  Commission  concluded  an 
Inter-institutional  Agreement  on  Better  Law-making.  Its  main  elements  are  the 
improvement of inter-institutional coordination and transparency29; common definitions30 and 
agreed conditions of use for alternative instruments such as co-regulation and self-regulation; 
increased use of impact assessment in Community decision-making; and the commitment to 
set a binding time limit for the transposition of directives into national law31. 

29 

30 

31 

The  three  institutions  will  reinforce  their  coordination  through  their  respective  annual  legislative 
timetables with a view to reaching agreement on joint annual programming. 
The  Interinstitutional  Agreement  on  better  lawmaking  provides  the  following  definitions:  Co-
regulation:  “…  the  mechanism  whereby  a  Community  legislative  act  entrusts  the  attainment  of  the 
objectives  defined  by  the  legislative  authority  to  parties  which  are  recognised  in  the  field  (such  as 
economic  operators,  the  social  partners,  NGOs  or  associations)”;  Self-regulation:  “the  possibility  for 
economic  operators,  the  social  partners,  NGOs  or  associations  to  adopt  amongst  themselves  and  for 
themselves  common  guidelines  at  European  level  (particularly  codes  of  practices  or  sectoral 
agreements)”.  The  rules  on  the  functioning  of  the  social  dialogue  (Articles  138  and  139  TEC)  and 
standardisation according to the “New Approach” are not affected by this agreement. 
Each  directive  should  indicate  a  time  limit  which  should  be  as  short  as  possible  and  generally  not 
exceed two years. 

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
                                                 
ANNEX 2 

Broad assessment of Better Regulation implementation in Member States 

Many  Member  States  have  launched  various  initiatives  on  regulatory  reforms.  Information 
available  on  these  matters  is  mainly  based  on  Member  States’  self-assessment  and  is 
somewhat partial; it therefore needs, to be complemented by independent and/or peer review 
evaluations. The table below comes from the Report on the implementation of the European 
Charter for Small Enterprises in the Member States of the European Union32 and shows that a 
large majority of Member States (20) have already developed some type of better regulation 
programme, which very often includes obligatory impact analysis of new legislation (14) and 
consultation of stakeholders (14). However, it is not clear to what extent these exercises are 
integrated assessments of economic, social and environmental impacts nor the extent to which 
they  are  pursued  in  practice  rather  than  being  ‘paper’  exercises.  Moreover,  there  may  be 
further initiatives taken by Member States not yet contemplated in the table. 

In  the  ten  new  Member  States,  a  joint  EU-OECD  project  is  currently  under  way:  it  is  the 
SIGMA project (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management). The objective of 
the  project  is  to  promote  and  improve  the  development  and  implementation  of  better 
regulation practices in these countries. The project consists in a general peer review exercise 
designed to examine the institutional framework of the new Member States, to establish the 
state  of  introduction,  development  and  practical  use  of  better  regulation  practices  and  to 
identify potential problems and gaps. The peer reviews should be finished by the end of 2005.

32 

Commission  Staff  Working  Paper:  Report  on  the  implementation  of  the  European  Charter  for  Small 
Enterprises in the Member States of the European Union - SEC(2005) 167, 8.2.2005, p. 36. 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
Overview of measures in the area of Better Regulation and impact assessment33 

n
o
i
t
a
l
u
g
e
r

r
e
t
t
e
B

e
m
m
a
r
g
o
r
p

A
I
R
c
i
f
i
c
e
p
S

y
c
i
l
o
p

A
I
R
y
r
o
t
a
g
i
l
b
O

-
u
r
t
s
n
i

e
v
i
t
a
n
r
e
t
l

A

d
e
r
e
d
i
s
n
o
c

s
t
n
e
m

A
I
R
n
o

s
e
n
i
l
e
d
i
u
G

g
n
i
t
a
n
i
d
r
o
o
C

A
I
R
r
o
f

y
d
o
b

t
r
a
p
n
o
i
t
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
C

A
I
R

f
o

-
l
u
s
n
o
c

l
a
m
r
o
F

s
e
r
u
d
e
c
o
r
p
n
o
i
t
a
t

r
e
d
l
o
h
e
k
a
t
s

t
c
e
r
i
D

n
o
i
t
a
t
l
u
s
n
o
c

n
o

t
c
a
p
m

i

f
o

s
t
s
e
T

s
e
s
i
r
p
r
e
t
n
e

l
l
a
m

s

(Y) 

N.A. 

(Y)   N.A. 

(Y) 

(Y) 

N 

(Y) 

(Y) 

(Y) 

Y 

N.A. 

N 

Y 

N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A. 

(Y) 

r
o
f

s
n
o
i
t
p
m
e
x
E

s
E
M
S

N 

N 

Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 

Y 
Y 
N 
N 
N 

N 

Y 

Y 
N.A.  N.A.  N.A. 
N.A. 
N 
N 

Y 
N 
Y 

N.A.  N.A. 

N 
(Y) 
(Y) 

Y 
N.A. 
N 
N.A. 
(Y) 
N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A. 
N 
(Y) 
N 
Y 

N 
N 
N.A. 
N 

N 
(Y) 
N 
Y 

N 
N 
N 

Y 
N 

Y 

Y 

Y 
N.A.  N.A.  N.A. 
Y 
N 
Y 

N 
N 
N 
Y 
Y 
Y 
Y 

N 
Y 
N 
Y 
Y 
N.A. 
(Y) 
N.A.  N.A. 
N.A. 
Y 
Y 
N 

Y 
Y 
Y 
N 

(Y) 
(Y) 
N 
Y 
Y 
Y 
N 
N 
Y 
Y 
Y 
N 

Y 
Y 
Y 
N 
(Y) 

(Y) 
Y 
N 
Y 
Y 
N.A. 
N 
N.A. 
Y 
Y 
Y 
N 

Y 
Y 
N 
(Y) 
Y 

Y 
(Y) 
N 
Y 
N.A. 
Y 
Y 
Y 
Y 
Y 
Y 
N 
Y 

(Y) 
N 
N 
Y 

(Y) 
(Y) 
N 
Y 
N.A.  N.A.  N.A. 
Y 
(Y) 
N 
N 
Y 
Y 
N 

Y 
Y 
(Y) 
Y 
N 
Y 
N 

Y 
(Y) 
N 
N 
Y 
Y 
N 

N 
Y 
N 
N 
N 
N 
N 
Y 
Y 
Y 
(Y) 
N 

N.A.  N.A. 

N 
N 
N 
(Y) 
N.A. 
N 
N 

Y 
N 
Y 
Y 
N 
Y 
N 

N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A. 

N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A.  N.A. 

Y 
Y 

Y 

Y 
Y 

Y 

Y 
Y 

Y 

Y 
Y 

Y 

Y 
Y 

Y 

19 

13 

12 

15 

15 

(Y) 
Y 

Y 

14 

Y 
Y 

Y 

Y 
Y 

Y 

12 

12 

(Y)  N.A. 
Y 
Y 

N 

N.A.  N.A. 

Y 

11 

Y 

7 

N 

N 

N 

5 

)
Y
(
+
Y

l
a
t
o
T

7 

3 

10 
5 
4 
3 
6 
0 
5 
8 
0 
9 
4 
7 
6 
4 
8 
8 
10 
0 
1 
1 
9 
9 

10 

Belgium 
Czech 
Republic 
Denmark 
Germany 
Estonia 
Greece 
Spain 
France 
Ireland 
Italy 
Cyprus 
Latvia 
Lithuania 
Luxembourg 
Hungary 
Malta 
Netherlands 
Austria 
Poland 
Portugal 
Slovenia 
Slovakia 
Finland 
Sweden 
United 
Kingdom 
Total Y+(Y) 

Legend 

Y 

Measures exist 

(Y) 

Measures 
Available partially 

planned/ 

N 

No  measures 
exist 

N.A. 

Information not 
available 

33 

Commission  Staff  Working  Paper:  Report  on  the  implementation  of  the  European  Charter  for  Small 
Enterprises in the Member States of the European Union - SEC(2005) 167, 8.2.2005, p. 36.  

EN 

17 

   EN