Communication of the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Implementing the Community Lisbon programme : A strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment
Date: 2005-10-25
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: economic and social cohesion, economic growth, economic policy, employment policy, simplification of legislation, social policy, sustainable development

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 25.10.2005 
COM(2005) 535 final 

COMMUNICATION OF THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, 
THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Implementing the Community Lisbon programme:  
A strategy for the simplification 
of the regulatory environment 

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   EN 

 
 
 
  
COMMUNICATION OF THE COMMISSION 
TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL, 
THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS 

Implementing the Community Lisbon programme:  
A strategy for the simplification 
of the regulatory environment 

(Text of EEA relevance) 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The Communication of March 2005 on “Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs”1 identified 
simplification as one priority action for the EU. This action is the response to the European 
Parliament’s and Council’s requests to simplify  EU-legislation  and enhance its quality.  It is 
fully embedded into the revised Lisbon strategy for achieving growth and jobs in Europe and 
therefore  focuses  on  those  elements  of  the  acquis  that  concern  the  competitiveness  of 
enterprises  in  the  EU.  Its  overall  objective  is  to  contribute  to  a  European  regulatory 
framework  that  fulfils  the  highest  standards  of  law  making  respecting  the  principles  of 
subsidiarity and proportionality. 

Following  these  principles,  the  EU  should  only  regulate  if  a  proposed  action  can  be  better 
achieved at EU level. Any such action should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the 
policy objectives pursued. It needs to be cost efficient and take the lightest form of regulation 
called  for.  In  this  respect  simplification  intends  to  make  legislation  at  both  Community  and 
national level less burdensome, easier to apply and thereby more effective in achieving their 
goals. 

The development of the European Union over the last half century has produced a large body 
of Community legislation, the Community “acquis”, which has often replaced 25 sets of rules 
with one and thereby offered business a more certain legal environment and a level playing 
field  in  which  to  operate.  This  stock  of  legislation  has  been  essential,  for  example,  in 
establishing the single market, developing EU environmental policy and in setting EU wide 
levels  for  the  protection  of  workers  and  consumers.  At  the  same  time,  legislation  can  also 
entail costs, hamper business, channel resources away from more efficient uses and in some 
cases  act  as  a  constraint  to  innovation,  productivity  and  growth.  The  challenge  is  to  get  the 
balance  right  so  as  to  ensure  that  the  regulatory  environment  is  necessary,  simple  and 
effective.  

In its Communication of March 2005, the Commission sets out a revised approach to further 
promote better regulation with a view to improving competitiveness. It focuses on:  

1 

COM(2005) 97, 16.3.2005. 

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(1) improving and extending the use of impact assessment for new proposals – including the 
development of a methodology to measure administrative costs2. The Commission adopted in 
June 2005 new extended guidelines for impact assessment. The 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  environment 
impact of new legislation; 

(2) screening pending legislative proposals. In September 2005, the Commission announced 
its intention to withdraw 68 pending proposals as a result of extended screening3; 

(3) introducing a new method of simplifying existing legislation. The present Communication 
sets out the Commission’s revised approach for future simplification work.  

Simplification  is  not  a  new  issue4.  However  it  is  time  for  a  step  change  in  our  efforts.  The 
approach  builds  on  earlier  work  of  the  institutions  to  streamline  Community  rules  and  on 
stakeholder  consultation.  The  emphasis  is  firmly  on  creating  a  European  regulatory  system 
that will help achieve the Lisbon Agenda objectives.  

This  initiative  is  of  particular  importance  for  Europe’s  small  and  medium  sized  businesses 
(SMEs) which constitute 99% of all enterprises and two thirds of employment. Due to their 
smaller  size,  SMEs  suffer  disproportionately  from  legislative  and  administrative  burdens  as 
they have more limited resources and expertise to tackle often complex rules and regulations. 
It is therefore necessary to assess how their special needs can be taken into consideration in 
the  context  of  simplification.  In  this  respect  reducing  the  burden  of  statistics  and  data 
collections for SMEs will deserve special attention. 

Better  regulation  is  however  not  de-regulation.  Simplification  at  Community  and  national 
level means making things easier for citizens and operators. In turn, this should lead to a more 
effective legislative framework which is better suited to delivering the policy objectives of the 
Community. 

2. 

A NEW SIMPLIFICATION STRATEGY AT EU LEVEL 

The  review  of  the  acquis  must  become  a  continuous  and  systematic  process  enabling  the 
legislator  to  revise  legislation  taking  all  legitimate  private  sector  and  public  interests  into 
account. 

2 

3 

4 

Commission  communication  on  an  EU  common  methodology  for  assessing  administrative  costs 
imposed by legislation - COM(2005) 518, 21.10.2005, and SEC(2005) 1329. 
Commission Communication on the ‘outcome the screening of legislative proposals pending before the 
legislator » - COM(2005) 462. 
The  first  initiative  to  simplify  EU  legislation  was  launched  in  1997;  the  second  comprehensive 
simplification  programme  –  COM(2003)  71  –  was  launched  in  February  2003.  As  a  result  of  the 
screening of 42 policy sectors, the Commission identified more than 200 legal acts with a potential for 
simplification  and  has  adopted  more  than  35  initiatives  with  simplification  implications.  To  date,  15 
legislative  simplification  proposals  are  still  pending  before  the  legislator.  In  addition,  to  improve  the 
accessibility, readability and consistency of the Community acquis, considerable work has been done to 
produce  consolidated  and  codified  texts.  Besides,  several  hundred  repeals  and  declarations  of 
obsolescence have significantly contributed to further reducing the volume of the acquis. 

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To start the process, an initial batch of legislation to be simplified has been identified on the 
basis of a broad consultation. This continuous process will then be fuelled by input from new, 
more  systematic  review  procedures  for  the  identification  of  future  simplification  priorities 
based on a broad analysis of the impact of legislation. This process encompasses a thorough 
economic analysis and will take full account of the EU’s social and environmental ambitions 
as  essential  elements  of  the  overarching  objective  of  sustainable  development  set  out  in  the 
Treaty. 

a. 

A rolling programme anchored in stakeholders’ practical experience 

Annex  2  to  this  Communication  sets  out  a  rolling  programme  which  forms  part  of  the  new 
strategy  for  simplification.  The  programme  specifies  those  pieces  of  legislation  that  the 
Commission envisages reviewing and assessing with the view to simplifying them in the next 
three years. 

Earlier  this  year  the  Commission  launched  an  extensive  consultation  of  the  Member  States 
and  the  business  community.  It  was  complemented  by  a  public  internet  consultation5.  The 
findings  of  the  consultation  exercise,  summarised  in  Annex  1  to  this  Communication,  are 
being reviewed against the Commission’s own in-house experience to weigh the merit of each 
inhibit  competitiveness  (including 
simplification  suggestion.  Rules  which  seem 
administrative  requirements)  will  be  examined  by  the  Commission  to  ensure  that  they  are 
necessary  and  proportionate  to  other  public  interests  pursued.  In  that  respect,  findings 
collected by support services such as SOLVIT6 will be taken into account, together with the 
results of public consultations, to determine the nature of the problem and possible solutions.  

to 

The rolling programme addresses many of the specific concerns that emerged from the wide-
ranging consultation process in key areas for business competitiveness such as company law 
and  financial  services,  transport,  consumer  protection  and  waste.  It  includes  the  priorities 
already identified by the Council7. It will be systematically reviewed and updated. 

In  addition,  the  Commission  will  include  major  legislative  simplification  initiatives  in  its 
annual  legislative  work  programmes  and  intends  to  issue  a  series  of  complementary 
communications indicating in more detail how simplification work will be brought forward or 
integrated in the sectors of agriculture8, environment9, health and safety in the work place10, 
fisheries11, taxation, customs, statistics12 and labour law13. These communications will help in 
the consultation of all interested parties. 

5 

6 
7 

8 

9 

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11 

launched  on  1st 

survey 

to  “improve 

The  Commission 
the  business 
June  2005  a 
environment”(http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/forms/dispatch?form=418&lang=EN).  The  consultation  is 
ongoing until the end of the year. 
http://europa.eu.int/solvit/ 
In November  2004,  the  Competitiveness  Council  identified  15  priority  areas  for  simplification  of  EU 
legislation. In response, with the adoption of three legislative proposals and the launching of seven non-
legislative  initiatives  –  which  could  at  a  later  stage  result  into  further  legislative  initiatives,  the 
Commission will have addressed by the end of the year 13 out of these 15 Council priorities. 
Communication  on  “Simplification  and  Better  Regulation  for  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy”  - 
COM(2005) 509. 
The  Commission  adopted  a  Commission  working  document  on  “Better  Regulation  and  the  Thematic 
Strategies for the Environment” - COM(2005) 466. 
The Commission will present in 2006 a new health and safety strategy for the period 2007-2012. 
The  Commission  adopted  in  December  2004  a  Communication  on  “Perspectives  for  simplifying  and 
improving the regulatory environment of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) ” - COM(2004) 820 - and 

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The  rolling  programme  includes  comprehensive  simplification  initiatives  in  key  areas  for 
business  competitiveness,  such  as  waste  and  labelling  legislation.  It  also  includes  sector-
specific rules in areas such as cars or construction products, as well as horizontal rules with 
cross-sectoral impact in fields such as public procurement or taxation. 

b. 

An approach based on continuous in-depth sectoral assessment 

To  pursue  the  evaluation  of  the  acquis  beyond  the  present  simplification  programme,  the 
Commission  will  identify  the  need  for  simplification  from  a  sectoral  perspective.  Such  an 
approach will make it possible to assess the overall effectiveness of the legislative framework 
for  the  sector  concerned  and  the  room  for  further  simplification.  This  implies  that  for  each 
sector considered, both general and sector specific legislation will be screened for its impact. 
It  will  include  an  analysis  of  the  benefits  and  the  costs,  administrative  and  others,  of  the 
legislation in question. 

The focus will initially be on three sectors: automotive, construction and waste. The impact of 
the current regulatory environment is being measured, in close cooperation with stakeholders, 
to  plan  the  sustainable  development  of  these  industry  sectors  and  define  the  best  possible 
regulatory  approach.  For  example,  the  CARS  2114  initiative  in  the  automotive  sector  is 
expected  to  recommend  a  significant  reduction  in  the  volume  of  Community  legislation  by 
referring  directly  to  international  measures  and  developing  flexibility  for  conformity 
assessment and test procedures for vehicles.  

In line with the orientations in the communication on “Implementing the Community Lisbon 
programme: A policy framework to strengthen EU manufacturing – towards a more integrated 
approach for industrial policy”15, the Commission will gradually apply this approach to other 
industry  sectors,  such  as  pharmaceuticals,  mechanical  engineering,  information  and 
communication  technologies  and  energy-intensive  sectors.  Simplification  will  also  address 
areas  of  law  with  cross-sectoral  impact.  The  results  of  these  screening  exercises  will  be 
integrated in the rolling programme. 

The  approach  will  be  extended  to  services,  which  account  for  more  than  70%  of  EU  GDP. 
Services  provide  input  for  the  rest  of  the  economy  and  create  important  markets  for 
manufactured  products,  such  as  telecommunications,  rail,  aerospace  and  power  generation 
equipment. Since more and more services are supplied on a cross-border basis in the internal 

a Staff Working Document entitled “Analysis of the possibilities of simplification and improvement of 
the regulatory environment of the CFP and its implementation” - SEC(2004) 1596. Before the end of 
the  year,  the  Commission  will  adopt  a  multi-annual  plan  for  the  simplification  of  the  CFP  following 
consultations with public administrations and the industry. 
The forthcoming proposal from the Commission on the multi-annual statistical programme for 2008-12 
and,  as  a  pilot  exercise,  in  the  2007  annual  work  programme  will  include  a  number  of  initiatives  to 
reduce the statistical requirements in areas of lower priority. 
The Commission will present in 2006 a Green Paper on the development of labour law. 
The “Competitive Automotive Regulatory System for the 21st century” (CARS 21) initiative consists of a 
High  Level  Group  which  reviews  existing  legislation  with  a  view  to  improving  the  regulatory 
framework  affecting  the  competitiveness  of  the  automotive  industry.  This  group  will  make 
also 
See 
recommendations 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/automotive/pagesbackground/competitiveness/cars21.htm  
COM(2005) 474. 

regulatory 

roadmap 

years. 

next 

the 

for 

on 

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market, it is vital that the EU regulatory environment enhances their competitiveness, which 
in turn confers a competitive advantage on the entire EU economy. 

Simplification  will  be  based  on  an  in-depth  analysis  of  the  impact  on  all  stakeholders 
including business and industry, taking into account the objectives pursued by the legislation. 
Priority sectors for manufacturing industry are identified in the present Communication.  

3. 

THE COMMISSION’S APPROACH TO SIMPLIFICATION 

The Commission intends to make use of the following methods for the simplification.  

a. 

Repeal  

Many  of  the  legislative  acts  adopted  since  1957  have  subsequently  become  irrelevant  or 
obsolete due to technical or technological progress, the evolution in the policies pursued by 
the  Union,  changes  in  the  way  general  Treaty  rules  are  applied,  or  the  development  of 
international rules or standards. Often such outdated acts have already been formally repealed. 
However there are acts in force that have little or no practical impact. Some of the provisions 
in such acts continue to generate obligations, particularly of an administrative nature, for both 
authorities  and  companies. The Commission will continue its efforts to ensure the repeal of 
those legal acts which are irrelevant or obsolete16. 

It is however important that the repeal of Community instruments are followed by the repeal 
of  the  corresponding  national  implementing  measures  in  order  to  have  the  desired  practical 
effect.  It  needs  to  be  ensured  that  the  advantages  of  a  lighter  Community  regulatory 
environment  are  not  cancelled  out  by  new  national  rules  and  new  technical  barriers.  In  this 
regard, the Commission sees its proposal to repeal the pre-packaging directive17 as a test of 
the political willingness of the co-legislator to take up the simplification challenge. 

The  possibility  of  introducing  “sunset  clauses”  into  Commission  legislative  proposals  has 
been considered to avoid obsolescence and more generally to compel the legislator to check 
regularly the relevance, effectiveness and proportionality of the regulations in force. Although 
not excluding this option, the Commission thinks that review clauses serve a similar purpose 
whilst presenting a lower risk of legal lacunae. 

To  help  prevent  obsolescence,  the  Commission  intends  in  the  future  to  introduce  in  its 
legislative proposals either a review clause or, whenever there is no risk for adverse effect on 
legal continuity, a sunset clause. 

16 

17 

Detailed  rules  for  the  implementation  of  this  aspect  of  simplification  policy  for  autonomous 
Commission acts were issued to Commission services in February 2004 by the Secretary-General and 
the Legal Service. 
COM(2004) 708. The proposal includes a mechanism prohibiting Member States to regulate at national 
level what is deregulated at Community level. 

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b. 

Codification18 

Codification contributes greatly to the reduction in volume of Community legislation, and at 
the same time, provides more readable and legally secure texts, thus facilitating transparency 
and  enforcement.  The  Commission  will  pursue  its  codification  programme19  with  the 
objective  of  completing  the  codification  of  the  acquis  by  2007.  The  translations  and 
subsequent  consolidation20  of  acts  in  all  20  official  languages  will  lead  to  a  significant 
increase in codified texts to be adopted from the end of 2005. 

c. 

Recasting21  

Recasting  is  a  powerful  simplification  method  as  it  simultaneously  amends  and  codifies  the 
legal acts in question.  

Following the inter-institutional agreement22, the Commission intends to use this technique as 
appropriate  when  proposing  amendments  to  existing  acts.  Priority  will  be  given  to  the 
merging  of  legal  acts  to  maximise  synergies,  minimise  overlaps  and  redundancies,  and 
increase the clarity and consistency of Community rules. Taking account of the nature of this 
powerful but complex instrument, recourse to this method should be envisaged in particular in 
cases  of  substantial  modification  where  it  clearly  contributes  to  the  clarity,  efficiency  and 
simplification of Community law.  

The  waste  sector  is  governed  by  18  Directives  and  6  Regulations,  and  not  less  than  22 
Community acts regulate the labelling of foodstuffs. The recasting of these texts will provide 
economic operators with a clearer and more streamlined regulatory framework.  

d. 

Modification of the regulatory approach 

Questioning the approach of provisions that have existed for decades is also required for the 
establishment  of  a  better  regulatory  environment.  Political  consensus  is  essential  to 
accompany and support change in any given policy area. 

Co-regulation and essential requirements 

Co-regulation  can  in  certain  cases  be  a  more  cost  efficient  and  expedient  method  for 
addressing  certain  policy  objectives  than  the  classical  legislative  tools.  Standardisation  by 

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21 

22 

Codification is the process whereby the provisions of an act and all its amendments are brought together 
in a new legally binding act which repeals the acts which it replaces, without changing the substance of 
those provisions. 
In November 2001 the Commission launched a major programme for codification - COM(2001) 645 - 
of all community secondary legislation.  
Consolidation  is  the  process  whereby  the  provisions  of  an  act  and  all  its  amendments  are  gathered 
together mechanically without any intervention whatsoever. The consolidation of the entire EU acquis 
was completed, as planned, by summer 2003 and the result is freely available to the public via EUR-
Lex. 
Recasting  is  the  process  whereby  a  new  legally  binding  act  repealing  the  acts  which  it  replaces 
combines both the amendment of the substance of the legislation and the codification of the remainder 
which is intended to remain unchanged. 
Inter-institutional Agreement of 28 November 2001 on a more structured use of the recasting technique 
of legal acts - OJ C 77, 28.3.2002, p. 1. 

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independent  bodies  is  an  example  of  a  well  recognised  ‘co-regulation’  instrument.  It  is 
actively supported by the Commission as an alternative or complement to legislation23. 

Whilst past experience has sometimes led to mixed results, the Inter-institutional Agreement 
on better lawmaking now provides a stable framework for alternative methods of regulation 
which should reinforce their credibility and ultimately facilitate their use. 

For many industrial and consumer products, the CE marking attests that a product has been 
certified and can be marketed in the Community. The corresponding Community approach to 
technical  harmonisation  limits  the  content  of  Community  legislation  to  the  essential 
requirements,  referring  to  harmonised  European  standards  for  all  the  detailed  technical 
specifications and providing for simple and light conformity assessment procedures. Over the 
last  twenty  years,  this  policy  has  led  to  a  considerable  reduction  in  intervention  by  public 
authorities (national and European) prior to the marketing of products and a greater reliance 
on market forces to ensure that only safe products come onto the market. 

This  regulatory  approach  is  currently  being  revised  by  the  Commission.  Its  strengthening 
should lead to the extension of this approach to as many sectors as possible and even beyond 
the technical harmonisation of industrial products, e.g. in the services sector. What has been 
achieved  in  safety-sensitive  areas  such  as  medical  devices  or  machinery  could  no  doubt  be 
extended to – or further developed in - other domains such as cosmetics, noise emissions by 
machines, or health and safety at work.  

In other sectors, EU legislation could contain less detailed provisions enshrined in basic texts 
and  thus  be  more  flexible  if,  on  the  basis  of  framework  legislation,  the  Commission’s 
competence  to  enact  implementing  measures  through  faster  procedures  was  recognised.  In 
April  2004,  the  Commission  modified  a  proposal  to  amend  the  rules  related  to  the 
Commission’s implementing powers24. 

The Commission will promote a simpler legislative method and will increase its support for 
standardisation that has proved  its worth in the context of the  free movement of goods.  For 
example,  the  development  of  European  Standards  for  technical  specifications  for  wood  will 
permit  the  repeal  of  the  existing  directive.  Another  example  is  the  standards  for  good 
laboratory  practices  which  have  made  it  possible  to  implement  the  requirements  of  the 
cosmetics directives without further legislative initiatives. 

From Directives to Regulations 

As  the  Commission  made  clear  in  its  Communication  on  Better  Regulation  for  Growth  and 
Jobs,  the  choice  of  the  appropriate  legal  approach  must  be  based  on  a  careful  analysis. 
Replacing  directives  with  regulations  can  under  certain  circumstances  be  conducive  to 
simplification  as  regulations  enable  immediate  application,  guarantee  that  all  actors  are 
subject to the same rules at the same time, and focus attention on the concrete enforcement of 
EU  rules.  This  contribution  to  simplification  was  widely  recognised  in  the  consultations 
underlining the view that it would prevent divergent national implementation. 

23 

24 

Commission  Communication  on  the  role  of  European  standardisation  in  the  framework  of  European 
policies and legislation - COM(2004) 674 - and proposal for a Decision of the European Parliament and 
the Council on the financing of European standardisation - COM(2005) 377. 
COM(2004) 324, amending COM(2002) 719. 

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In  conformity  with  Treaty  provisions  and  taking  into  account  the  Protocol  to  the  Treaty  on 
subsidiarity and proportionality, the Commission intends to further exploit, on a case by case 
basis, the potential for simplification through substituting directives with regulations. 

e. 

Reinforcement of the use of information technology 

The considerable potential of information technology can be better tapped. Secure integrated 
e-government  can  help  reduce  administrative  burden  by  accelerating  procedures,  trimming 
paper flows, making the law apply more uniformly and reducing the risk of error. 

Simplification will be specifically addressed in the Commission's forthcoming Action Plan on 
e-government to be launched in 2006 under the i2010 initiative25 with a focus on building on 
direct experiences and good practices that show tangible benefits in terms of efficiency and 
user satisfaction. 

The  Commission  will  ensure  that  the  EU  legal  and  operational  framework  can  support 
simplified and paperless procedures.  

Where  necessary,  the  Commission  will  propose  amendments  to  legislation  with  a  view  to 
modifying procedures to allow modern tools and technology to be used. The preparatory work 
is well advanced in the modernisation of the customs code and proposals are already pending 
in the taxation sector. Statistical obligations of enterprises could also be simplified by relying 
more extensively on IT tools. 

will 

Commission 

The 
of
e-government with the launch of an e-Government Action Plan in 2006. Where necessary, the 
Community  rulebook  will  be  adapted  to  maximise  the  potential  of  modern  information 
technologies. 

initiatives 

reinforce 

area 

the 

its 

in 

4. 

SUPPORT FROM THE INSTITUTIONS AND THE MEMBER STATES 

The  Commission  can  only  realize  the  common  objective  –  the  promotion  of  a  better 
to  strengthen  European 
for  our  businesses  and  citizens 
regulatory  environment 
competitiveness  –  if  all  Institutions  wholeheartedly  support  the  strategy  and  assume  full 
responsibility for their share of the effort. This means developing not only a shared method 
but also a shared mindset:  

–  The Commission will exercise its right of initiative to design proposals for simplification. 
In conformity with better regulation practices, this will entail thorough ex post evaluations 
and including in-depth stakeholder consultation and careful assessments of various options 
to  demonstrate  the  added  value  of  proposed  measures  in  relation  to  growth  and  jobs.  To 
ensure that its simplification priorities are implemented in timely fashion in all domains, it 
will set up the appropriate internal measures to monitor progress and report to the College. 

–  Given that it is the role of the co-legislator to adopt proposals for simplification tabled by 
the  Commission,  it  is  essential  that  the  2003  Inter-Institutional  Agreement  on  Better 
Lawmaking be fully implemented and that all means of promoting the simplification of EU 

25 

i2010 - A European Information Society for growth and employment - COM(2005) 229. 

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legislation within this framework be exploited. In this context, the Commission recalls the 
commitment  made  by  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  to  improve  working 
methods  for  simplification26.  The  need  to  establish  a  common  approach  to  impact 
assessment  has  also  been  recognised  by  the three  Institutions  and  the  Commission  hopes 
that an agreement will be reached by the end of the year.  

–  Moreover,  the  regulatory  environment  for  EU  companies  can  only  be  improved  if  the 
initiatives taken at EU level are matched by equally ambitious programmes in the Member 
States.  Contrary  to  widespread  belief,  the  regulatory  environment  for  companies  consists 
mainly  of  national  rules.  Technical  requirements,  labelling  obligations,  authorisation 
procedures  and  other  administrative  requirements  are  added  on  top  of  Community 
legislation  by  national  regulators.  The  Commission  will  continue  to  address  better 
regulation under the open method of coordination set up to monitor progress on the Lisbon 
objectives. The Commission will also promote simplification in the context of its scrutiny 
of national measures for compliance with Community law. 

5. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Starting with a working programme based on input from the Member States and stakeholders, 
the Commission will develop its simplification priorities following, 

–  a comprehensive analysis of selected sectors regarding the impact of legislation, including 

economic, environmental and social aspects, 

–  a simplification method drawing on techniques such as repeal, codification, recasting and 

changing implementing methods, 

–  a  legislative  method  entailing  a  clear  preference  for  essential  requirements  rather  than 
technical  specifications,  the  increased  use  of  co-regulation,  the  promotion  and  increased 
use of information technologies, 

–  an  increased  use,  as  appropriate  and  on  a  case  by  case  basis,  of  regulations  instead  of 

directives as well as of review clauses, 

In  order  to  secure  the  implementation  of  simplification  priorities  on  time,  the  Commission 
will  streamline  its  internal  working  methods  to  ensure  a  comprehensive  monitoring  and 
follow-up of the simplification process, both at administrative and political level. In addition 
the  Commission  will  continue  to  consult  regularly  with  stakeholders  on  how  the 
simplification programme should be further developed over the coming years. 

Considering  the  need  for  shared  commitment  to  simplification  by  the  Institutions,  the 
Commission  invites  the  European  Parliament,  the  Council,  the  European  Economic  and 
Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions to react to this Communication. 

26 

15 legislative proposals tabled according to the 2003 simplification programme are still pending before 
the legislator. 

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Findings of the consultation process 

ANNEX 1 

Member  States  and  the  main  business  associations  sent  detailed  contributions,  typically 
consisting of a description of the difficulties they encounter and suggestions how to address 
these. The most frequently mentioned policy area was environmental protection, followed by 
agriculture and food safety, company law, transport and consumer policy.  

Preliminary  analysis  of  the  on-going  internet  consultation  shows  that  a  good  deal  of  public 
reaction  relates  to  red  tape  in  national  or  local  rules,  rather  than  EU  legislation.  The  most 
frequently raised problems relate to rules with taxation and employment issues where national 
legislation plays the prominent role. 

The  simplification  needs  that  emerged  from  the  consultation  of  Member  States  and 
stakeholders fall into five broad categories: 

•  clarify  and  improve  the  legibility  of  legislation:  many  concerns  relate  to  unclear  or 
incomplete concepts, definitions or provisions. Ambiguities generate legal uncertainty and 
discrepancies  when  EU  Directives  are  transposed  into  national  legislation,  which  in  turn 
lead to distortion of competition and fragmentation of the internal market. In this regard, 
some contributions stressed that increased use of Regulations, instead of Directives, would 
cut down on erroneous or diverging transposition at national level. Many contributions also 
highlighted the importance of continuing to consolidate and codify Community legislation 
to improve its accessibility and legibility; 

•  update and modernize the regulatory framework: stakeholders flagged up a number of 
legal texts containing definitions or procedures which are no longer in line with technical, 
economic  and  sectoral  reality,  as  well  as  procedures  which  appear  unnecessarily 
burdensome or slow. Stakeholders also submitted examples of legal acts which have been 
largely deprived of their substance due to the evolution of other parts of the acquis, Treaty 
changes or the development of international rules. Finally, some legislation was thought to 
have  failed  to  achieve  its  objectives  and  proposals  were  accordingly  made  to  change  the 
approach; 

•  reduce administrative costs27: many contributions raised the issue of rigid, unnecessarily 
complex and overly bureaucratic procedures which particularly hamper SMEs due to their 
lack of human resources. For instance, many comments from both enterprises and public 
administrations  were  recorded  on  the  frequency  and  duplicative  character  of  reporting  or 
statistical obligations and the level of detail required to comply with them; 

•  reinforce the consistency of the acquis: a series of comments were received concerning 
overlaps,  insufficient  coordination  or  alleged  inconsistencies  among  pieces  of  EU 
legislation. In this regard, some stakeholders provided concrete examples of cases where, 

27 

Administrative  costs  are  defined  as  the  costs  incurred  by  enterprises,  the  voluntary  sector,  public 
authorities  and  citizens  in  meeting  legal  obligations  to  provide  information  on  their  action  or 
production, either to public authorities or to private parties. Information is to be construed in a broad 
sense,  i.e.  including  costs  of  labelling,  reporting,  monitoring  and  assessment  needed  to  provide  the 
information and registration.  

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in their view, coherence is not ensured between instruments within the same policy sector 
or across sectors; 

•  improve  the  proportionality  of  the  acquis:  several  respondents  felt  that  certain 
provisions  are  excessively  prescriptive,  disproportionate  and  too  costly  in  relation  to  the 
objectives  pursued.  This  is  probably  the  most  far-reaching  concern  and  at  the  same  time 
the most difficult to address as it affects the substance of legal acts which are the result of a 
legislative  process  during  which  the  various  concerns  were  considered  by  the  legislator. 
This type of evaluation can only be done on a case by case basis, taking all the legitimate 
private sector and public interests into account. 

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Simplification Rolling Programme 

ANNEX 2 

This rolling programme addresses sectoral and horizontal legislation which has been identified as presenting a simplification potential likely to lead to 
the improvement of industrial competitiveness. It was established following consultations with both Member States and stakeholders. 

This list includes the sectoral priorities identified by the Commission (waste, automotive and construction) in its communication on better regulation 
but also the results of the large consultation of Member States and stakeholders.  

The  sectors  covered  encompass  that  of  agriculture  and  foodstuffs,  of  manufacturing  such  as  cosmetics,  pharmacy  or  pressure  equipment,  and  of 
services. In addition, the programme includes regulatory fields with cross-sectoral impact such as company law, intellectual property, taxation, customs 
and statistics.  

(*) = action identified by the Council in its priority list adopted on 25 November 2004 

Policy area 

Instrument 

Action 

Business 
sector 

All sectors 

Business statistics 

Council  Regulation  (EC,  Euratom)  No  58/97  of  20  December 
1996 concerning structural business statistics 

*  Recast 

2005 

Free movement of 
workers 

Health and safety 

Regulation  (EEC)  No  574/72  of  the  Council  of  21  March  1972 
fixing  the  procedure  for  implementing  Regulation  (EEC)  No 
1408/71  on  the  application  of  social  security  schemes  to 
employed  persons  and 
the 
Community 

their  families  moving  within 

Council  Directive  89/391/EEC  of  12  June  1989  on 
the 
introduction  of  measures  to  encourage  improvements  in  the 
safety  and  health  of  workers  at  work,  and  19  other  health  and 
safety  directives  to  be  reviewed  with  respect  to  Reporting 
requirements on Member States 

Revision: a new implementing regulation replacing Regulation 
(EEC) No 574/72 will facilitate procedures for EU citizens as 
well as for Member States authorities 

Revision  of  the  regulatory  approach  by  harmonising  the 
periodicity  of  reporting,  and  possibly  replacing  the  several 
reports with a single one covering all aspects (Consultation of 
social partners ongoing) 

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Agricultural  and 
foodstuff 
industry 

Organic farming 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2092/91  of  24  June  1991  on 
organic  production  of  agricultural  products  and  indications 
referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs 

Plant health 

Council Directive 66/401/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing 
of fodder plant seed 

Council Directive 66/402/EEC of 14 June 1966 on the marketing 
of cereal seed 

Council Directive 2002/54/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing 
of beet seed 

Council Directive 2002/55/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing 
of vegetable seed 

Council Directive 2002/57/EC of 13 June 2002 on the marketing 
of seed of oil and fibre plants 

Recast  in  order  to  define  the  basic  principles  of  organic 
farming, minimise the amount of detail laid down at EU level, 
ensure  proper  functioning  of  the  market,  and  establish  a 
permanent system for imports 
Recast  with  the  aim  to  simplifying  rules  for  temporary 
the 
marketing  authorisations  of 
requirements in respect of the minimum germination. 
Quicker  response  to  temporary  shortages  in  the  supply  of 
seeds:  Clear  rules  to  be  followed  by  the  Member  States  in 
the 
replacement  of  ad-hoc  derogations  adopted  under 
comitology procedure.  

seed  not 

satisfying 

Quality policy 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2081/92  of  14  July  1992  on  the 
protection of geographical indications and designations of origin 
for agricultural products and foodstuffs 

Revision  to  improve  the  efficiency  of  the  registration  process 
improving  consistency  and 
by  simplifying  procedures, 
clarifying the respective role of each actor 

Radiation protection 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2082/92  of  14  July  1992  on 
certificates  of  specific  character  for  agricultural  products  and 
foodstuffs 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1661/1999  of  27  July  1999 
laying  down  detailed  rules  for  the  application  of  Council 
Regulation  (EEC)  No  737/90  on  the  conditions  governing 
imports  of  agricultural  products  originating  in  third  countries 
following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power-station 

Sugar 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the 
common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector 

Recast  –  to  simplify  procedures  and  improve  registration 
process 

Recast,  notably  to  remove  Annex  3  of  this  Regulation  (list  of 
customs  offices  in  which  products  listed  in  annexe  1  may  be 
declared for free circulation in the Community) 

Revision  of  the  Common  Market  Organisation  in  sugar,  to 
respect international obligations and improve competitiveness, 
introduce a temporary fund for restructuring of the sector, and 
incorporate  the  aid  to  sugar  beet  growers  into  the  Single 
Payment System 

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Manufacturing 
industry 

Pharmaceutical 
industry  

Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of 
laying  down  Community 
the  Council  of  31 March  2004 
procedures  for  the  authorisation  and  supervision  of  medicinal 
products  for  human  and  veterinary  use  and  establishing  a 
European Medicines Agency 

New  regulation  to  support  SMEs  in  the  centralised  procedure 
providing  a  one-stop-shop  in  the  EMEA  for  SMEs,  and 
specifying circumstances for the reduction and deferral of fees 
for SMEs. 

Financial 
services 

Transport 
services 

Cross-border credit 

Directive 97/5/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 27 January 1997 on cross-border credit transfers 

Recast (a new proposal for a Directive will abrogate the current 
directive as well as three recommendations) 

Air transport 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2299/89 of 24 July 1989 on a code 
of conduct for computerized reservation systems 

Maritime Transport 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3089/93  of  29  October  1993 
amending  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2299/89  on  a  code  of  conduct 
for computerized reservation systems 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  323/1999  of  8  February  1999 
amending  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2299/89  on  a  code  of  conduct 
for computer reservation systems (CRSs) 

Council  Directive  95/21/EC  of  19  June  1995  concerning  the 
enforcement,  in  respect  of  shipping  using  Community  ports  and 
sailing in the waters under the jurisdiction of the Member States, 
of  international  standards  for  ship  safety,  pollution  prevention 
and shipboard living and working conditions (port State control) 

Directive  94/57/EC  on  common  rules  and  standards  for  ship 
inspections  and  survey  organisations  (flag  state/classification 
societies 

Repeal of the 3 Regulations as the risk of competitive abuse of 
a dominant position initially requiring them no longer applies. 
The  repeal  of  this  legislation  in  current  conditions  of  greater 
competition will help the market to be more efficient. 

Recast  of  the  basic  Directive  and  five  modifying  Directives 
with a view to set up a new IT information system and modify 
the reporting requirements accordingly 

Recast  of  basic  Directive  and  3  modifying  directives  to 
reinforce clarity and make implementation more efficient. 

EN 

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Codification  or  recast  (depending  on  the  outcome  of  the  on-
going review which involves a stakeholder consultation) 

All sectors 

Company Law 

2006 

First  Council  Directive  68/151/EEC  of  9  March  1968  on  co-
ordination of safeguards which, for the protection of the interests 
of  members  and  others,  are  required  by  Member  States  of 
companies within the meaning of the second paragraph of Article 
58  of  the  Treaty,  with  a  view  to  making  such  safeguards 
equivalent throughout the Community. 

Third Council Directive 78/855/EEC of 9 October 1978 based on 
Article  54  (3)  (g)  of  the  Treaty  concerning  mergers  of  public 
limited liability companies. 

Sixth Council Directive 82/891/EEC of 17 December 1982 based 
on  Article  54  (3)  (g)  of  the  Treaty,  concerning  the  division  of 
public limited liability companies. 

Directive 2005/.../EC  of  the European parliament  and  the  of  the 
Council  on  cross-border  mergers  of  limited  liability  companies 
[Tenth CLD – awaiting formal adoption] 

Eleventh  Council  Directive  89/666/EEC  of  21  December  1989 
concerning disclosure requirements in respect of branches opened 
in a Member State by certain types of company governed by the 
law of another State 

Twelfth  Council  Company  Law  Directive  89/667/EEC  of  21 
December  1989  on  single-member  private 
limited-liability 
companies 

Directive  2003/58/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  15  July  2003  amending  Council  Directive 
68/151/EEC,  as  regards  disclosure  requirements  in  respect  of 
certain types of companies 

Copyright 

Council  Directive  91/250/EEC  of  14  May  1991  on  the  legal 
protection of computer programs 

Recast with a view to improve the coherence and operation of 
the legal framework and adapt it to the new digital challenges.  

Council  Directive  92/100/EEC  of  19  November  1992  on  rental 

EN 

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right and lending right and on certain rights related to copyright 
in the field of intellectual property 

Council  Directive  93/83/EEC  of  27  September  1993  on  the 
coordination  of  certain  rules  concerning  copyright  and  rights 
related to copyright applicable to satellite broadcasting and cable 
retransmission 

Council  Directive  93/98/EEC  of  29  October  1993  harmonizing 
the term of protection of copyright and certain related rights 

Directive 96/9/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 
of 11 March 1996 on the legal protection of databases 

Directive  2001/29/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects 
of copyright and related rights in the information society 

Customs Code 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2913/92  of  12  October  1992 
establishing the Community Customs Code 

Recast  and  modernisation  of  the  customs  code  by  means  of  a 
new Regulation. 

Council  Regulation (EEC) No 918/83  of 28  March  1983  setting 
up a Community system of reliefs from customs duty 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  82/2001  of  5  December  2000 
concerning the definition of the concept of “originating products” 
and  methods  of  administrative  cooperation  in  trade  between  the 
customs territory of the Community and Ceuta and Melilla 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3925/91  of  19  December  1991 
concerning the elimination of controls and formalities applicable 
to  the  cabin  and  hold  baggage  of  persons  taking  an  intra-
Community  flight  and  the  baggage  of  persons  making  an  intra-
Community sea crossing  

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1207/2001  of  11  June  2001  on 
procedures to facilitate the issue of movement certificates EUR.1, 
the making-out of invoice declarations and forms EUR.2 and the 
issue  of  certain  approved  exporter  authorisations  under  the 
provisions  governing  preferential  trade  between  the  European 
Community  and  certain  countries  and  repealing  Regulation 
(EEC) No 3351/83 

In  the  context  of  the  Electronic  Customs  Initiative,  the 
modernized  Customs  Code  will  create  the  legal  basis  for 
electronic  data  exchange  between  all  stakeholders  involved  in 
customs  operations 
(traders,  Member  States’  customs 
administrations,  border  agencies  such  as  police  or  veterinary 
authorities) 
International  trade  will  be  facilitated  by  streamlined  and 
simplified  customs  procedures  and  rules,  automated  and 
interlinked  customs  systems,  and  the  close  cooperation  of  all 
authorities  and  agencies  involved  in  the  movement  of  goods 
across Community borders.  

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Customs rules 

Rules of Origin (based on the Community Customs Code) 

Recast to simplify the system of Rules of Origin 

Environment (waste) 

Council Directive 75/442/EEC of 15 July 1975 on waste 

*  Revision  as  part  of  the  thematic  strategy  on  prevention  and 

Health and safety 

Council  Directive  91/156/EEC  of  18  March  1991  amending 
Directive 75/442/EEC on waste 

Council  Directive  91/689/EEC  of  12  December  1991  on 
hazardous waste 

Council Directive 75/439/EEC of 16 June 1975 on the disposal of 
waste oils 

Council Directive 89/655/EEC of 30 November 1989 concerning 
the minimum safety and health requirements for the use of work 
equipment  by  workers  at  work  (second  individual  Directive 
within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC) 

Council  Directive  95/63/EC  of  5  December  1995  amending 
Directive 89/655/EEC concerning the minimum safety and health 
requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work 
(second individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16 (1) 
of Directive 89/391/EEC) 

Directive  2001/45/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  27  June  2001  amending  Council  Directive 
the  minimum  safety  and  health 
89/655/EEC  concerning 
requirements for the use of work equipment by workers at work 
(second individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) 
of Directive 89/391/EEC)  

Council  Directive  83/477/EEC  of  19  September  1983  on  the 
protection  of  workers  from  the  risks  related  to  exposure  to 
asbestos at work (second individual Directive within the meaning 
of Article 8 of Directive 80/1107/EEC) 

Council  Directive  91/382/EEC  of  25  June  1991  amending 
Directive 83/477/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks 
related  to  exposure  to  asbestos  at  work  (second  individual 
the  meaning  of  Article  8  of  Directive 
Directive  within 
80/1107/EEC) 

recycling of waste 

*  Repeal  as  part  of  the  thematic  strategy  on  prevention  and 

recycling of waste 

Codification 

Codification  

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Industrial property 

Insolvency 

Public procurement 

Council Directive 98/24/EC of 7 April 1998 on the protection of 
the  health  and  safety  of  workers  from  the  risks  related  to 
chemical agents at work 

Directive  2003/18/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  27  March  2003  amending  Council  Directive 
83/477/EEC on the protection of workers from the risks related to 
exposure to asbestos at work  

Council Regulation (EC) No 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the 
Community trade mark, and subsequent amendments: Regulation 
(EC)  No  3288/94,  Regulation  (EC)  No  1653/2003,  Regulation 
(EC)  No  807/2003,  Regulation  (EC)  No  1992/2003  and 
Regulation (EC) No 422/2004 

Council  Directive  80/987/EEC  of  20  October  1980  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  the 
protection  of  employees  in  the  event  of  the  insolvency  of  their 
employer 

Directive  2002/74/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  23  September  2002  amending  Council  Directive 
80/987/EEC  on  the  approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member 
States relating to the protection of employees in the event of the 
insolvency of their employer  

Council  Directive  71/304/EEC  of  26  July  1971  concerning  the 
abolition of restrictions on freedom to provide services in respect 
of  public  works  contracts  and  on  the  award  of  public  works 
contracts to contractors acting through agencies or branches 

Commission  Directive  2001/78/EC  of  13  September  2001 
amending  Annex  IV  to  Council  Directive  93/36/EEC,  Annexes 
IV, V  and  VI to  Council  Directive  93/37/EEC,  Annexes  III  and 
IV  to  Council  Directive  92/50/EEC,  as  amended  by  Directive 
97/52/EC,  and  Annexes  XII to  XV,  XVII  and XVIII  to  Council 
Directive  93/38/EEC,  as  amended  by  Directive  98/4/EC 
(Directive  on  the  use  of  standard  forms  in  the  publication  of 
public contract notices)  

Codification 

Codification 

Repeal (pending the outcome of the ongoing review) 

Recast and replacement by a Regulation 

EN 

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Regulated 
professions 

State Aid 

Regulation  (EC)  No  2195/2002  of  the  European  Parliament  and 
of the Council of 5 November 2002 on the Common Procurement 
Vocabulary (CPV)  

Update  and  modernisation  of  the  CPV,  transforming  it  into  a 
tool for fully electronic procurement procedures. 

Revision ongoing with likely simplification implications 

Repeal (pending the outcome of the ongoing review) 

Council  Directive  89/665/EEC  of  21  December  1989  on  the 
regulations  and  administrative 
coordination  of 
provisions relating to the application of review procedures to the 
award of public supply and public works contracts 

laws, 

the 

Council  Directive  92/13/EEC  of  25  February  1992  coordinating 
the laws, regulations and administrative provisions relating to the 
application  of  Community  rules  on  the  procurement  procedures 
of  entities  operating  in  the  water,  energy,  transport  and 
telecommunications sectors 

Council  Directive  74/556/EEC  of  4  June  1974  laying  down 
detailed  provisions  concerning  transitional  measures  relating  to 
activities, trade in and distribution of toxic products and activities 
entailing  the  professional  use  of  such  products  including 
activities of intermediaries 

Council Directive 74/557/EEC of 4 June 1974 on the attainment 
of  freedom  of  establishment  and  freedom  to  provide  services  in 
respect  of  activities  of  self-  employed  persons  and  of 
intermediaries  engaging  in  the  trade  and  distribution  of  toxic 
products 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 68/2001 of 12 January 2001 on 
the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training 
aid 

Commission  Regulation  on  the  application  of  Articles  87  and 
88  of  the  Treaty  to  regional  aid,  SME,  R&D,  environmental 
aid, employment, training.  

Commission Regulation (EC) No 363/2004 of 25 February 2004 
amending  Regulation  (EC)  No  68/2001  on  the  application  of 
Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to training aid 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 of 12 January 2001 on 
the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State aid 
to small and medium-sized enterprises 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 364/2004 of 25 February 2004 

Recast  and  consolidation  of  four  existing  instruments  (as 
amended)  into  one  general  block  exemption  instrument  and 
(regional  aid  and 
incorporation  of 
environmental  aid)  thus  avoiding  the  need  for  a  further  two 
new instruments.  

two  new  aspects 

The  block  exemption  takes  the  form  of  a  Commission 
Regulation  and  is  a  procedural  measure  to  exempt  from  prior 
notification  under  Article  87.1  certain  types  of  aid  which 

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amending Regulation (EC) No 70/2001 as regards the extension 
of its scope to include aid for research and development 

comply with the provisions of Article 87.3. 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2204/2002  of  12  December 
2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to 
State aid for employment 

Corrigendum  to  Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2204/2002  of 
12 December 2002 on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the 
EC Treaty to State aid for employment (OJ L 337 of 13.12.2002) 

Taxation 

Council  Directive  69/335/EEC  of  17  July  1969  concerning 
indirect taxes on the raising of capital 

Sixth  Council  Directive  77/388/EEC  of  17  May  1977  on  the 
harmonization  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
turnover  taxes  -  Common  system  of  value  added  tax:  uniform 
basis of assessment 

Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general 
arrangements  for  products  subject  to  excise  duty  and  on  the 
holding, movement and monitoring of such products 

Recast  to  simplify  and  modernise  the  existing  Community 
legislative  framework  in  the  area  of  indirect  taxes  on  the 
raising  of  capital  and  to  provide  for  a  phasing  out  of  capital 
duty. 
Revision: 
1)  as  regards  VAT  provisions  relating  to  financial  services, 
including  insurances:  modernisation  of  existing  obsolete  rules 
which hamper efficiency in the EU financial services industry 
(banks, financial groups).  
2)  as  regards  VAT  treatment  of  public  authorities  and  the 
exemptions  for  certain  activities  in  the  public  interest:  review 
aiming at ensuring a more harmonised and neutral VAT system 
and  at  establishing  a  level-playing  field  between  public  and 
private bodies within the EU.  
Recast  with  a  view  to  simplifying  and  modernizing  the 
requirements and to computerizing the procedures 

Trade statistics 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2658/87  of  23  July  1987  on  the 
tariff  and statistical  nomenclature  and on  the  Common  Customs 
Tariff (“Combined Nomenclature”)  

Simplification  to  reduce  the  number  of  subheadings  by 
reassessing the needs of detailed statistical information with a 
view to lighten the statistical reporting of economic operators 

Agricultural and 
foodstuff 
industry 

Common Market 
Organisations 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1786/2003 of 29 September 2003 on 
the common organisation of the market in dried fodder 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 of 29 September 2003 on 
the common organisation of the market in rice 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 of 29 September 2003 on 

Launching of a step by step process of recast of the existing 21 
sectoral  CMOs,  and  codification  into  one  single  horizontal 
Common Market Organisation instrument. 

EN 

21 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the common organisation of the market in cereals 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2529/2001 of 19 December 2001 on 
the  common  organisation  of  the  market  in  sheepmeat  and 
goatmeat 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the 
common organisation of the markets in the sugar sector 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1673/2000  of  27  July  2000  on  the 
common organisation of the markets in flax and hemp grown for 
fibre 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the 
common organisation of the market in wine 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the 
common organisation of the market in milk and milk products 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the 
common organisation of the market in beef and veal 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the 
common  organization  of  the  markets  in  processed  fruit  and 
vegetable products 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the 
common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 on the 
common organization of the market in bananas 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2075/92  of  30  June  1992  on  the 
common organization of the market in raw tobacco 

Regulation (EEC) No 2777/75 of the Council of 29 October 1975 
on the common organization of the market in poultrymeat 

Regulation (EEC) No 2771/75 of the Council of 29 October 1975 
on the common organization of the market in eggs 

Regulation (EEC) No 2759/75 of the Council of 29 October 1975 
on the common organization of the market in pigmeat 

EN 

22 

EN 

 
  
Regulation (EEC) No 2358/71 of the Council of 26 October 1971 
on the common organisation of the market in seeds 

Regulation (EEC) No 1696/71 of the Council of 26 July 1971 on 
the common organisation of the market in hops 

Regulation (EEC) No 827/68 of the Council of 28 June 1968 on 
the common organisation of the market in certain products listed 
in Annex II to the Treaty (“Solde Regulation”)  

Regulation (EEC) No 234/68 of the Council of 27 February 1968 
on the establishment of a common organisation of the market in 
live trees and other plants, bulbs, roots and the like, cut flowers 
and ornamental foliage 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  865/2004  of  29  April  2004.on  the 
common organisation of the market in olive oil and table olives 
and amending Regulation (EEC) No 827/68 

Egg marketing 
standards 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  1907/90  of  26  June  1990  on 
certain marketing standards for eggs 

Energy crops 

Foodstuffs 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1782/2003  of  29  September  2003 
establishing  common  rules for  direct  support  schemes  under  the 
common  agricultural  policy  and  establishing  certain  support 
schemes  for  farmers  and  amending  Regulations  (EEC)  No 
2019/93,  (EC)  No  1452/2001,  (EC)  No  1453/2001,  (EC)  No 
1454/2001,  (EC)  1868/94,  (EC)  No  1251/1999,  (EC)  No 
1254/1999, (EC) No 1673/2000, (EEC) No 2358/71 and (EC) No 
2529/2001 

Council  Directive  89/107/EEC  of  21  December  1988  on  the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States concerning food 
additives  authorized  for  use  in  foodstuffs  intended  for  human 
consumption,  European  Parliament  and  Council  Directive 
94/35/EC  of  30  June  1994  on  sweeteners  for  use  in  foodstuffs, 
European Parliament and Council Directive 94/36/EC of 30 June 
1994  on  colours  for  use  in  foodstuffs,  European  Parliament  and 
Council Directive 95/2/EC of 20 February 1995 on food additives 

Recasting  with  the  objective  of  facilitating  the  application  of 
egg  marketing  standards  for 
the  benefit  of  consumers, 
producers, traders and public administrations. 
Review of the aid scheme provisions (Article 90)  

Recast  into  one  single  act  of  the  existing  food  additives 
the  evaluation  and  authorisation 
legislation  and  update 
procedures  (EFSA,  comitology).  Replacement  of  a  Directive 
by a single Regulation: 
The  more  effective  evaluation  and  approval  procedures  will 
speed up the decision making process and allow manufacturers 
and  consumers  to  benefit  from  new  additives  in  a  shorter 
period of time. 

EN 

23 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
other than colours and sweeteners  

Council  Directive  88/388/EEC  of  22  June  1988  on 
the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
flavourings for use in foodstuffs and to source materials for their 
production 

Regulation (EC) No 2232/96 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  28  October  1996  laying  down  a  Community 
procedure for flavouring substances used or intended for use in or 
on foodstuffs 

Fruit and vegetables 
(fresh and processed) 

Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28 October 1996 on the 
common  organization  of  the  markets  in  processed  fruit  and 
vegetable products 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  2202/96  of  28  October  1996 
introducing  a  Community  aid  scheme  for  producers  of  certain 
citrus fruits 

Plant Protection 
Products 

Council  Directive  91/414/EEC  of  15  July  1991  concerning  the 
placing of plant protection products on the market 

Food additives approvals are currently maintained in 3 separate 
Directives  (colours,  sweeteners  and  other  additives)  some  of 
which  have  been  amended  several  times.  By  combining  these 
approvals  and  the  provisions  of  the  current  Framework 
Directive into one Regulation, additives legislation will remain 
concise and also easier to consult for all stakeholders. 
The evaluation and approval procedure has been developed in 
common with that for food flavourings. 

Recast  with  a  view  to  modernise  and  adapt  the  existing 
legislation  on  flavourings  to  technological  and  scientific 
to  establish  clear  evaluation  and 
developments  and 
authorisation procedures (EFSA, comitology).  
A  new  framework  will  enable  European  industry  to  develop 
more efficiently new flavourings and new applications. It will 
clarify when and when not flavouring has to be evaluated and 
under  what  circumstances  flavouring  can  be  called  natural. 
Clarification of the authorisation procedure. Replacement by a 
regulation  
Revision  to  improve  competitiveness  of  processed  fruit  and 
vegetables industry, improve market management instruments, 
reduce trade distortions, delete obsolete legal acts 

*  Recast and replacement of the directive by a regulation.  

The  objectives  of  the  revision  are  to  further  harmonize  the 
authorisation procedure of plant protection products, to define 
the  missions  of  EFSA  for  evaluation  of  active  substances  and 
to  review  the  rules  on  data  protection  in  order  to  keep  a  fait 
balance  between 
interests  of  research  and  generic 
companies.  More  effective  evaluation  and  authorisation 
procedures  will  avoid  duplication  of  work,  speed  up  the 
decision  making  process  and  ensure  a  more  harmonized 

the 

EN 

24 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
availability of plant protection products within the Community.  
The  new  Regulation  will  also  provide  that  the  withdrawal  of 
authorizations  and  expiry  of  grace  periods  will  not  interfere 
with the normal use period of the plant protection product. 
The Directive has currently been amended more than 50 times. 
The intention id to bring all amendments together in a limited 
number of implementing regulations or annexes. 
New  regulation  to  replace  existing  potato  starch  regime; 
applicable from the 2007-08 marketing year. 

Recast  –  the  seven  texts  in  force  relating  to  state  aids  will  be 
reduced  to  three:  the  exemption  regulation,  one  set  of 
guidelines, and the de minimis regulation 

Potato starch 

State aid rules 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1868/94  of  27  July  1994 
establishing a quota system in relation to the production of potato 
starch 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  1/2004  of  23  December  2003 
on the application of Articles 87 and 88 of the EC Treaty to State 
aid  to  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  active  in  the 
production, processing and marketing of agricultural products 

Community Guidelines for State aid in the agriculture sector (OJ 
C 28 of 1.2.2000)  

Community  guidelines  for  State  aid  for  advertising  of  products 
listed  in  Annex  I  to  the  EC  Treaty  and  of  certain  non-Annex  I 
products (OJ C 252 of 12.9.2001)  

Community guidelines for State aid concerning TSE tests, fallen 
stock and slaughterhouse waste (OJ C 324 of 24.12.2002). 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No 1860/2004  of  6  October  2004 
on  the  application of Articles  87  and  88  of the  EC  Treaty  to  de 
minimis aid in the agriculture and fisheries sectors 

Commission communication on State aids: subsidised short-term 
loans in agriculture (crédits de gestion) (OJ C 44 of 16.2.1996) 

communication 

Commission 
framework 
(agriculture part only) (OJ C 48 of 13.2.1998) 

for  State  aid 

amending 

for 

the  Community 
research  and  development 

Wine  

Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the 
common organisation of the market in wine 

Recast  to  improve  competitiveness  and  sustainability  of  the 
sector,  better  monitor  and  manage  the  wine  market,  and 
improve  the  balance  between  supply  and  demand  in  both 
qualitative and quantitative terms. 

EN 

25 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Radiation protection 

Manufacturing 
industry 

Pharmaceutical 
industry 

Council Regulation (Euratom) No 3954/87 of 22 December 1987 
radioactive 
laying  down  maximum  permitted 
contamination  of  foodstuffs  and  of  feedingstuffs  following  a 
nuclear  accident  or  any  other  case  of  radiological  emergency, 
modified by 
-  Council  Regulation  2218/89  of  18  July  1989  amending 

levels  of 

Council Regulation 3954/87/EURATOM  

-  Commission  Regulation  770/90  of  29  March  1990  laying 
down maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination 
of  feeding  stuffs  following  a  nuclear  accident  or  any  other 
case of radiological emergency 

-  Commission Regulation 944/89 of 12 April 1989 laying down 
maximum  permitted  levels  of  radioactive  contamination  in 
minor  foodstuffs  and  of  feeding  stuffs  following  a  nuclear 
accident or any other case of radiological emergency 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  737/90  of  22  March  1990  on  the 
conditions governing imports of agricultural products originating 
in third countries following the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear 
power-station 

Council  Regulation  616/2000  of  20  March  2000  amending 
Regulation (EEC) 737/90 on the conditions governing imports of 
agricultural  products  originating  in  third  countries  following  the 
accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power station. 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2377/90  of  26  June  1990  laying 
down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum 
residue  limits  of  veterinary  medicinal  products  in  foodstuffs  of 
animal origin 

Wood 

Council  Directive  68/89/EEC  of  23  January  1968  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member States  concerning  the 
classification of wood in the rough 

Codification  

Codification 

reduce the number of lists of substances,  

Recast to:  
- 
–  enhance transparency in the assessment procedure 
–  ensure compliance with international trade standards 
It  will  provide  incentives  to  ensure  availability  of  veterinary 
medicinal  products  for  food-producing  animals,  and  ensure 
consistency with parallel review of the legislation on control of 
residues in foodstuffs of animal origin. 
Repeal 

EN 

26 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Financial 
services 

Insurance 

Directive  2002/83/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 5 November 2002 concerning life assurance 

In the context of the Solvency II project, recast of the relevant 
Insurance Directives into one single instrument. 

Directive  98/78/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 27 October 1998 on the supplementary supervision of 
insurance undertakings in an insurance group 

First  Council  Directive  73/239/EEC  of  24  July  1973  on  the 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating  to  the  taking-up  and  pursuit  of  the  business  of  direct 
insurance other than life assurance 

Council  Directive  76/580/EEC  of  29  June  1976  amending 
Directive  73/239/EEC  on  the  coordination  of  laws,  regulations 
and administrative provisions relating to the taking up and pursuit 
of the business of direct insurance other than life assurance 

Council Directive 84/641/EEC of 10 December 1984 amending, 
particularly  as  regards  tourist  assistance,  the  First  Directive 
(73/239/EEC)  on  the  coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and 
administrative provisions relating to the taking-up and pursuit of 
the business of direct insurance other than life assurance 

Council  Directive  87/343/EEC  of  22  June  1987  amending,  as 
regards credit insurance and suretyship insurance, First Directive 
73/239/EEC  on  the  coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and 
administrative provisions relating to the taking-up and pursuit of 
the business of direct insurance other than life assurance 

Council  Directive  87/344/EEC  of  22  June  1987  on 
the 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating to legal expenses insurance 

Second  Council  Directive  88/357/EEC  of  22  June  1988  on  the 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating  to  direct  insurance  other  than  life  assurance  and  laying 
down provisions to facilitate the effective exercise of freedom to 
provide services and amending Directive 73/239/EEC 

Council  Directive  90/618/EEC  of  8  November  1990  amending, 
particularly as regards motor vehicle liability insurance, Directive 
73/239/EEC  and  Directive  88/357/EEC  which  concern  the 

EN 

27 

EN 

 
  
 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating to direct insurance other than life assurance 

Council  Directive  92/49/EEC  of  18  June  1992  on 
the 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating  to  direct  insurance  other  than  life  assurance  and 
amending Directives 73/239/EEC and 88/357/EEC (third non-life 
insurance Directive) 

Directive  2002/12/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  5  March  2002  amending  Council  Directive 
79/267/EEC as regards the solvency margin requirements for life 
assurance undertakings 

Council  Directive  73/240/EEC  of  24  July  1973  abolishing 
restrictions on freedom of establishment in the business of direct 
insurance other than life assurance 

Council  Directive  78/473/EEC  of  30  May  1978  on 
the 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating to Community co-insurance 

Council  Directive  72/166/EEC  of  24  April  1972  on  the 
approximation of the laws of Member States relating to insurance 
against civil liability in respect of the use of motor vehicles, and 
to  the  enforcement  of  the  obligation  to  insure  against  such 
liability 

as amended by  

–  Council  Directive  72/430/EEC  of  19  December  1972 
amending Council Directive 72/166/EEC of 24 April 1972 on 
the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating 
to  insurance  against  civil  liability  in  respect  of  the  use  of 
motor  vehicles  and  to  the  enforcement  of  the  obligation  to 
insure against such liability 

–  Second Council Directive 84/5/EEC of 30 December 1983 on 
the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating 
to  insurance  against  civil  liability  in  respect  of  the  use  of 
motor vehicles 

Motor insurance 

Recasting into one single Directive (replacing six directives) 

EN 

28 

EN 

 
  
 
Securities 

–  Third Council Directive 90/232/EEC of 14 May 1990 on the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
insurance against civil liability in respect of the use of motor 
vehicles 

–  Directive 2000/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 16 May 2000 on the approximation of the laws of 
the Member States relating to insurance against civil liability 
in respect of the use of motor vehicles and amending Council 
Directives  73/239/EEC  and  88/357/EEC  (Fourth  motor 
insurance Directive) 

–  Directive 2005/14/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council  of  11  May  2005  amending  Council  Directives 
72/166/EEC,  84/5/EEC,  88/357/EEC  and  90/232/EEC  and 
Directive 2000/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council relating to insurance against civil liability in respect 
of the use of motor vehicles .  

Directive  98/26/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  19  May  1998  on  settlement  finality  in  payment  and 
securities settlement systems 

A.  Core  items  of  Community  law  specifically  devoted  to 
UCITS/investment funds which are the object of codification: 

Council  Directive  85/611/EEC  of  20  December  1985  on  the 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable 
securities (UCITS) 

Council  Directive  88/220/EEC  of  22  March  1988  amending,  as 
regards  the  investment  policies  of  certain  UCITS,  Directive 
85/611/EEC  on  the  coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and 
administrative  provisions  relating  to  undertakings  for  collective 
investments in transferable securities (UCITS) 

Directive  2001/107/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  21  January  2002  amending  Council  Directive 
85/611/EEC  on  the  coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and 
administrative  provisions  relating  to  undertakings  for  collective 

Directive  subject  to  ex-post  evaluation.  The  evaluation  report 
will be adopted by the Commission end 2005/beginning 2006 

Codification into one Directive of the UCITS acquis implying: 

–  4  core  items  of  Community  law  specifically  devoted  to 

UCITS/investment funds, and  

–  3 other cross-product/service legislation, which will also be 

integrated in codified version.  

EN 

29 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
investment  in  transferable  securities  (UCITS)  with  a  view  to 
regulating management companies and simplified prospectuses  

Directive  2001/108/EC  of  European  Parliament  and  Council  of 
21  January  2002  Council  Directive  85/611/EEC  on 
the 
coordination  of  laws,  regulations  and  administrative  provisions 
relating to undertakings for collective investment in transferable 
securities (UCITS), with regard to investments of UCITS 

B. Changes introduced by other cross-product/service 
legislation which will also be integrated in codified version. 

European Parliament and Council Directive 95/26/EC of 29 June 
1995  amending  Directives  77/780/EEC  and  89/646/EEC  in  the 
field of credit institutions, Directives 73/239/EEC and 92/49/EEC 
in  the  field  of  non-  life  insurance,  Directives  79/267/EEC  and 
92/96/EEC in the field of life assurance, Directive 93/22/EEC in 
the  field  of  investment  firms  and  Directive  85/611/EEC  in  the 
field  of  undertakings  for  collective  investment  in  transferable 
to  reinforcing  prudential 
securities  (Ucits),  with  a  view 
supervision  

Directive  2004/39/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  21  April  2004  on  markets  in  financial  instruments 
amending  Council  Directives  85/611/EEC  and  93/6/EEC  and 
Directive  2000/12/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council and repealing Council Directive 93/22/EEC 

Directive  2005/1/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  9  March  2005  amending  Council  Directives 
73/239/EEC,  85/611/EEC,  91/675/EEC,  92/49/EEC 
and 
93/6/EEC  and  Directives  94/19/EC,  98/78/EC,  2000/12/EC, 
2001/34/EC, 2002/83/EC and 2002/87/EC in order to establish a 
new organisational structure for financial services committees 

Transport 
Services 

Air transport 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2407/92  of  23  July  1992  on 
licensing of air carriers 

 Recast to improve readability and remove ambiguities and 
obsolete provision 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2408/92 of 23 July 1992 on access 

EN 

30 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
for Community air carriers to intra-Community air routes 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 2409/92 of 23 July 1992 on fares 
and rates for air services 

Maritime transport 

Directive  2001/25/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  4  April  2001  on  the  minimum  level  of  training  of 
seafarers 

Codification 

Rail transport 

Road transport 

Regulation (EC) No 881/2004 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  29  April  2004  establishing  a  European  Railway 
Agency (Agency Regulation) 

Directive  2004/49/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 29 April 2004 on safety on the Community's railways 
and  amending  Council  Directive  95/18/EC  on  the  licensing  of 
railway undertakings and Directive 2001/14/EC on the allocation 
of railway infrastructure capacity and the levying of charges for 
the use of railway infrastructure and safety certification (Railway 
Safety Directive) 

Council  Directive  96/96/EC  of  20  December  1996  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
roadworthiness tests for motor vehicles and their trailers 

Council Directive 96/26/EC of 29 April 1996 on admission to the 
occupation of road haulage operator and road passenger transport 
operator  and  mutual  recognition  of  diplomas,  certificates  and 
other  evidence  of  formal  qualifications  intended  to  facilitate  for 
these operators the right to freedom of establishment in national 
and international transport operations 

Commission Recommendation of 6 April 2004 on enforcement in 
the field of road safety (2004/345/EC) 

Transport of 
dangerous goods 

Council  Directive  94/55/EC  of  21  November  1994  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  with  regard  to 
the transport of dangerous goods by road 

Council  Directive  96/49/EC  of  23  July  1996  on 
the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  with  regard  to 

  Modification  of  these  legal  acts  in  view  of  simplifying  the 
process  of  certification  for  railway  undertakings  and  the  rail 
industry.  This  will  be  achieved  through  an  extension  of  the 
competences of the European Railway Agency – ERA. 

Codification  of  the  basic  act  and  its  four  Commission 
Directives  adapting 
technical  progress,  and  possible 
simplification (pending the findings of an ongoing study to be 
completed by the end of 2006) 
Recast involving a simplification of procedures. 

it 

Simplification  of  the  reporting  requirements  (instrument: 
working group composed of national representatives); avoiding 
supplementary acts; work ongoing. 
Recast: new directive or regulation and, at the same time, 
discontinue the translation and publication of the annexes in all 
Community languages (± 900 pages per mode). 

EN 

31 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the transport of dangerous goods by rail 

Transport of 
dangerous goods 

Council  Directive  96/35/EC  of  3  June  1996  on  the  appointment 
and vocational qualification of safety advisers for the transport of 
dangerous goods by road, rail and inland waterway 

Repeal: The provisions included in these directives are already 
incorporated in existing international agreements 

Energy 

New and renewable 
energies 

Directive  2000/18/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 17 April 2000 on minimum examination requirements 
for safety advisers for the transport of dangerous goods by road, 
rail or inland waterway 

Council  Directive  92/75/EEC  of  22  September  1992  on  the 
indication  by  labelling  and  standard  product  information  of  the 
consumption  of  energy  and  other  resources  by  household 
appliances 

Regulation  (EC)  No  2422/2001  of  the  European  Parliament  and 
of  the  Council  of  6  November  2001  on  a  Community  energy 
efficiency labelling programme for office equipment 

Nuclear energy 

EAEC Council: The Statutes of the Euratom Supply Agency (OJ 
27, 6.12.1958) 

Recast, notably to extend the field of the Directive 

Recast (in the context of the renewal of the Energy Star 
International Agreement - package including a proposal for a 
new Council Decision) to simplify procedures and reduce 
requirements for Member States 
Recast: Procedures for approving supply contracts will be 
simplified. 

Oil stocks 

EAEC  Supply  Agency:  Rules  of  the  Supply  Agency  of  the 
European Atomic Energy Community determining the manner in 
which  demand  is  to  be  balanced  against  the  supply  of  ores, 
source  materials  and  special  fissile  materials  (Official  Journal 
032, 11.05.1960) 

Council  Directive  68/414/EEC  of  20  December  1968  imposing 
an  obligation  on  Member  States  of  the  EEC  to  maintain 
minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products 

68/416/EEC:  Council  Decision  of  20  December  1968  on  the 
conclusion and implementation of individual agreements between 
Governments  relating  to  the  obligation  of  Member  States  to 
maintain minimum stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products 

Council  Directive  72/425/EEC  of  19  December  1972  amending 
the  Council  Directive  of  20  December  1968  imposing  an 
obligation  on  Member  States  of  the  EEC  to  maintain  minimum 

Recast/repeal  

EN 

32 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
stocks of crude oil and/or petroleum products 

Council  Directive  73/238/EEC  of  24  July  1973  on  measures  to 
mitigate the effects of difficulties in the supply of crude oil and 
petroleum products 

77/706/EEC:  Council  Decision  of  7  November  1977  on  the 
setting of a Community target for a reduction in the consumption 
of  primary  sources  of  energy  in  the  event  of  difficulties  in  the 
supply of crude oil and petroleum products 

79/639/EEC: Commission Decision of 15 June 1979 laying down 
detailed  rules  for  the  implementation  of  Council  Decision 
77/706/EEC 

Council  Directive  98/93/EC  of  14  December  1998  amending 
Directive 68/414/EEC imposing an obligation on Member States 
of  the  EEC  to  maintain  minimum  stocks  of  crude  oil  and/or 
petroleum products 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  850/98  of  30  March  1998  for  the 
conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for 
the  protection  of 
its 
modifications 

juveniles  of  marine  organisms  and 

Fisheries sector 

Conservation policy 

Fisheries control and 
monitoring 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  2847/93  of  12  October  1993 
establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries 
policy 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  3317/94  of  22  December  1994 
laying  down  general  provisions  concerning  the  authorization  of 
fishing  in  the  waters  of  a  third  country  under  a  fisheries 
agreement 

Recast with a view to clarify and improve the legibility of the 
technical  measures,  to  reinforce  their  consistency  and  to 
modernize the regulatory framework 

Recast  into  a  single  document  of  all  aspects  related  to  the 
control  and  monitoring  of  fisheries  activities  (declaration  of 
catches,  tolerance  margins,  landing  declaration,  transport, 
localisation  of  the  fleet,  etc.)  and  increased  use  of  IT  tools  to 
reduce reporting obligations 
Recast, with the view to clarify and improve the management 
of fishing authorizations and with a view to introduce IT tools 
(“Fishing authorisations permits”). 

Fisheries financial 
instrument 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 366/2001 of 22 February 2001 
laying  down  detailed  rules  for  implementing  the  measures 
provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 2792/1999 

Recast into a single document 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 908/2000 of 2 May 2000 laying 
down detailed rules for calculating aid granted by Member States 

EN 

33 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
All sectors 

Accounting 

to producer organisations in the fisheries and aquaculture sector 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  2722/2000  of  13  December 
2000  establishing  the  conditions  under  which  the  Financial 
Instrument  for  Fisheries  Guidance  (FIFG)  may  make  a 
contribution  towards  the  eradication  of  pathological  risks  in 
aquaculture 

2007 

Fourth Council Directive 78/660/EEC of 25 July 1978 based on 
Article 54(3)(g) of the Treaty on the annual accounts of certain 
types of companies  

Seventh  Council  Directive  83/349/EEC  of  13  June  1983  based 
on the Article 54(3)(g) of the Treaty on consolidated accounts 

Eighth Council Directive 84/253/EEC of 10 April 1984 based on 
Article  54(3)(g)  of  the  Treaty  on  the  approval  of  persons 
responsible  for  carrying  out  the  statutory  audits  of  accounting 
documents 

Council  Directive  90/604/EEC  of  8  November  1990  amending 
Directive  78/660/EEC  on  annual  accounts  and  Directive 
83/349/EEC  on  consolidated  accounts  as  concerns 
the 
exemptions  for  small  and  medium-sized  companies  and  the 
publication of accounts in ecus 

Council  Directive  90/605/EEC  of  8  November  1990  amending 
Directive  78/660/EEC  on  annual  accounts  and  Directive 
83/349/EEC  on  consolidated  accounts  as  regards  the  scope  of 
those Directives 

Council  Directive  94/8/EC  of  21  March  1994  amending 
Directive  78/660/EEC  as  regards  the  revision  of  amounts 
expressed in ecus 

Directive  2001/65/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  27  September  2001  amending  Directives 

* 

Recast and codification of the accounting acquis to: 

–  raise the thresholds defining SME’s (thus exempting more 

companies from reporting obligations) (*) 

–  simplify  and  update  accounting  rules  under  fourth  and 

seventh CLD’s for SME’s.  

–  consolidate 

on 
Commission 
IAS/IFRS/SIC/IFRIC in force in the EU (this could lead to 
the abrogation of six Regulations)  

Regulations 

all 

– 

incorporate the international standards of auditing (ISA’s) 
in the revised eighth CLD 

EN 

34 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Company Law 

78/660/EEC,  83/349/EEC  and  86/635/EEC  as  regards  the 
valuation  rules  for  the  annual  and  consolidated  accounts  of 
certain  types  of  companies  as  well  as  of  banks  and  other 
financial institutions 

Council  Directive  2003/38/EC  of  13  May  2003  amending 
Directive 78/660/EEC on the annual accounts of certain types of 
companies as regards amounts expressed in euro 

Directive  2003/51/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  18  June  2003  amending  Directives  78/660/EEC, 
83/349/EEC,  86/635/EEC  and  91/674/EEC  on  the  annual  and 
consolidated accounts of certain types of companies, banks and 
other  financial  institutions  and  insurance  undertakings  (Text 
with EEA relevance) 

First  Council  Directive  68/151/EEC  of  9  March  1968  on  co-
ordination of safeguards which, for the protection of the interests 
of  members  and  others,  are  required  by  Member  States  of 
companies  within  the  meaning  of  the  second  paragraph  of 
Article 58 of the Treaty, with a view to making such safeguards 
equivalent throughout the Community. 

Third  Council  Directive  78/855/EEC  of  9  October  1978  based 
on  Article  54(3)(g)  of  the  Treaty  concerning  mergers  of  public 
limited liability companies. 

Sixth  Council  Directive  82/891/EEC  of  17  December  1982 
based on Article 54(3)(g) of the Treaty, concerning the division 
of public limited liability companies. 

Directive 2005/.../EC of the European parliament and the of the 
Council  on  cross-border  mergers  of  limited  liability  companies 
[Tenth CLD – awaiting formal adoption] 

Eleventh  Council  Directive  89/666/EEC  of  21  December  1989 
concerning  disclosure  requirements  in  respect  of  branches 
opened in a Member State by certain types of company governed 
by the law of another State 

Twelfth  Council  Company  Law  Directive  89/667/EEC  of  21 

Comprehensive recast of the entire Company Law acquis.  

EN 

35 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
December  1989  on  single-member  private  limited-liability 
companies 

Directive  2003/58/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  15  July  2003  amending  Council  Directive 
68/151/EEC,  as  regards  disclosure  requirements  in  respect  of 
certain types of companies 

Consumer protection 
acquis 

Council Directive 85/577/EEC of 20 December 1985 to protect 
the  consumer  in  respect  of  contracts  negotiated  away  from 
business premises 

Rationalisation  and  simplification  of  the  acquis  in  order  to 
remove  possible  inconsistencies,  overlaps,  internal  market 
barriers and distortions of competition  

Council  Directive  90/314/EEC  of  13  June  1990  on  package 
travel, package holidays and package tours 

Directive  97/7/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  20  May  1997  on  the  protection  of  consumers  in 
respect of distance contracts - Statement by the Council and the 
Parliament  re  Article  6(1)  -  Statement  by  the  Commission  re 
Article 3(1), first indent 

Commission Directive 97/47/EC of 28 July 1997 amending the 
Annexes  to  Council  Directives  77/101/EEC,  79/373/EEC  and 
91/357/EEC  

Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on unfair terms in 
consumer contracts 

Directive  98/6/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  16  February  1998  on  consumer  protection  in  the 
indication of the prices of products offered to consumers 

Directive  1999/44/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  25  May  1999  on  certain  aspects  of  the  sale  of 
consumer goods and associated guarantees 

Directive  98/27/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  19  May  1998  on  injunctions  for  the  protection  of 
consumers’ interests 

Regulation (EC) No 761/2001 of the European parliament and of 
the  council  of  19  March  2001  allowing  voluntary  participation 
by  organisations  in  a  Community  eco-management  and  audit 

If, during the diagnostic phase, the Commission finds evidence 
that  the  acquis  needs  to  be  revised  or  completed  the 
Commission could theoretically choose between 2 options: 

a) a vertical approach consisting of the individual revision of 
existing directives (e.g. revision of the Timeshare Directive) or 
the  regulation of  specific  sectors  (e.g.  a  directive  on  tourism, 
including  provisions  of  the  Package  Travel  and  Timeshare 
Directives); 

b)  a  more  horizontal  approach,  adopting  one  or  more 
framework  instruments  to  regulate  common  features  of  the 
acquis. This framework instrument(s) would provide common 
definitions  and  regulate  the main  consumer  contractual rights 
and remedies. In accordance with Better Regulation principles, 
this  instrument  would  rationalise  the  regulatory  framework 
considerably  since  all  the  relevant  provisions  of  the  relevant 
existing  directives  would  be  systematised  into  the  new 
directive. 

The exercise concerns 8 directives and 6 amending directives. 

Recast  /  modification  of  approach,  including  measures  to 
facilitate participation of SMEs 

Eco-auditing 

EN 

36 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
Environment 
Emissions from 
industrial plants 

scheme (EMAS) 

Council  Directive  96/61/EC  of  24  September  1996  concerning 
integrated pollution prevention and control 

Council  Directive  88/609/EEC  of  24  November  1988  on  the 
limitation  of  emissions  of  certain  pollutants  into  the  air  from 
large combustion plants 

Council  Directive  1999/13/EC  of  11  March  1999  on  the 
limitation of emissions of volatile organic compounds due to the 
use of organic solvents in certain activities and installations 

Directive  2000/76/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 4 December 2000 on the incineration of waste 

* 

Review of the IPPC Directive and other related legislation on 
industrial  emissions  with  the  view  to  possible  recasting  to 
improve  clarity,  consistency  and  streamlining,  notably  in 
terms of reporting 

Environment Ozone 
Layer 

Regulation (EC) No 2037/2000 of the European Parliament and 
of  the  Council  of  29  June  2000  on  substances  that  deplete  the 
ozone layer 

Recast with a view to improving and clarify where appropriate 
the existing framework 

Labour law 

Statistics – Intrastat 

Council  Directive  91/533/EEC  of  14  October  1991  on  an 
employer’s  obligation  to  inform  employees  of  the  conditions 
applicable to the contract or employment relationship 

Council  Directive  98/59/EC  of  20  July  1998  on 
the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
collective redundancies 

Directive  2002/14/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 11 March 2002 establishing a general framework for 
the  European 
informing  and  consulting  employees 
Community 

in 

Regulation  (EC)  No  638/2004  of  the  European  Parliament  and 
of  the  Council  of  31  March  2004  on  Community  statistics 
relating  to  the  trading  of  goods  between  Member  States  and 
repealing Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 

Agricultural  and 
foodstuff 
industry 

Cross-compliance 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1782/2003  of  29  September  2003 
establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the 
common  agricultural  policy  and  establishing  certain  support 
schemes  for  farmers  and  amending  Regulations  (EEC)  No 

Codification into one single Directive 

the  outcome  of 

*  Simplification with a view to lighten the statistical reporting of 
economic  operators,  possibly  exempting  SMEs,  taking  into 
the  ongoing  pilot  project  of 
account 
administrative  costs  and  a  future  feasibility  study  to  analyse 
workability of a collection system limited to one flow 
Review of the statutory management requirements (Article 8) 
accompanied by appropriate proposals 

EN 

37 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2019/93,  (EC)  No  1452/2001,  (EC)  No  1453/2001,  (EC)  No 
1454/2001,  (EC)  1868/94,  (EC)  No  1251/1999,  (EC)  No 
1254/1999,  (EC)  No  1673/2000,  (EEC)  No  2358/71  and  (EC) 
No 2529/2001 

Feed/Animal nutrition  Council Directive 79/373/EEC of 2 April 1979 on the marketing 

of compound feedingstuffs 

Council Directive 96/25/EC of 29 April 1996 on the circulation 
of feed materials, amending Directives 70/524/EEC, 74/63/EEC, 
repealing  Directive 
82/471/EEC 
77/101/EEC 

93/74/EEC 

and 

and 

Council  Directive  82/471/EEC  of  30  June  1982  concerning 
certain products used in animal nutrition 

Council  Directive  93/74/EEC  of  13  September  1993  on 
feedingstuffs intended for particular nutritional purposes 

Foodstuffs 

Directive  2000/13/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 20 March 2000 on the approximation of the laws of 
the  Member  States  relating  to  the  labelling,  presentation  and 
advertising of foodstuffs and 4 related directives 

to  modify 

the  existing  feed 

Recast,  modernisation  and  replacement  of  the  four  directives 
by  a  regulation 
labelling 
requirements, to extend the non-exclusive list of feed materials 
and  to  align  the  authorisation  procedures  with  principles  and 
provisions set out in the General Food Law. 
The main objectives of the future proposal are to ensure food 
and feed safety, to facilitate smooth functioning of the internal 
market. and to protect the economic interests of the feed users. 
The recast will: 

•  eliminate the existing differences between laws, 

regulations and administrative provisions of MS that 
hamper the smooth functioning of the internal market; 
•  increase clarity and rationality: operators claim that legal 
requirements are spread over various legal instruments 
with different requirements for similar products; 

•  improve  food  and  feed  safety:  harmonised  approach  for 
the authorisation of certain feed materials and revision of 
certain  labelling  provisions  that  may  undermine  food 
safety. 

In  addition  to  the  four  directives,  the  exercise  will  also 
concern around 30 amending directives. 

*  Broad  recast  of  the  labelling  legislation  to  update,  modernise 

and merge the different texts in one single regulation.  
It  should  simplify  and  clarify  the  structure  and  scope  of  the 
existing  labelling  legislation,  both  horizontal  and  vertical, 
bringing  all  of  the  common  aspects  together  in  a  single 
instrument.  It  will  have  to  better  establish  the  rules  under 
which labelling will operate in order to: 
•  Enable  consumers  to  make  informed,  safe,  healthy  and 

sustainable choices. 

•  Contribute  to  a  pro-competitive  market  environment  in 
which operators can make efficient use of labelling to sell 
their products 

EN 

38 

EN 

 
  
 
 
Fruit and vegetables – 
regional 
implementation 

Manufacturing 
industry 

Construction 

Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No  298/97  of  19  February  1997 
fixing  representative  prices  and  additional  import  duties  in  the 
poultrymeat and egg sectors and for egg albumin, and amending 
Regulation (EC) No 1484/95  

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1782/2003  of  29  September  2003 
establishing common rules for direct support schemes under the 
common  agricultural  policy  and  establishing  certain  support 
schemes  for  farmers  and  amending  Regulations  (EEC)  No 
2019/93,  (EC)  No  1452/2001,  (EC)  No  1453/2001,  (EC)  No 
1454/2001,  (EC)  1868/94,  (EC)  No  1251/1999,  (EC)  No 
1254/1999,  (EC)  No  1673/2000,  (EEC)  No  2358/71  and  (EC) 
No 2529/2001 

Council  Directive  89/106/EEC  of  21  December  1988  on  the 
approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions 
of the Member States relating to construction products 

Cosmetics  

Medical devices 

Council  Directive  76/768/EEC  of  27  July  1976  on 
the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
cosmetic products  

And  its  amending  texts  (7  subsequent  amending  Directives,  2 
Directives  postponing  the  date  after  which  animal  test  are 
prohibited  as  well  as  37  adaptation  to  technical  progress 
Directives) 

Council  Directive  90/385/EEC  of  20  June  1990  on  the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
active implantable medical devices 

The  review  might  also  address  the  consistency  with  other 
labelling requirements relating to health (nutritional labelling, 
label  of  alcoholic  beverages),  ethics  (animal  welfare,  ‘fair 
trade’), origin labelling, etc… 
Recast and modernisation of the regulation, implementation of 
a centralised authorisation procedure 

Review  of  Article  60  provisions  accompanied  by  appropriate 
proposals 

*  Simplification,  clarification  and  reduction  of  administrative 
costs  and  burden,  in  particular  for  small  and  medium-sized 
enterprises, through more flexibility in the formulation and use 
of  technical  specifications,  lighter  certification  rules,  and 
elimination  of  the  implementation  obstacles  that  so  far  have 
internal  market  for 
hampered 
construction products. 
Simplification / codification  

the  creation  of  a  full 

Recast 
into  a 
authorisation procedures 

regulation.  Adaptation  of 

the  market 

Council  Directive  93/42/EEC  of  14  June  1993  concerning 
medical devices 

* 

EN 

39 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Motor vehicles 

Technical 
harmonisation of 
products 

Supervision 

Financial 
Services 

Directive  2000/70/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  16  November  2000  amending  Council  Directive 
93/42/EEC  as  regards  medical  devices  incorporating  stable 
derivates of human blood or human plasma 

Directive  2001/104/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  7  December  2001  amending  Council  Directive 
93/42/EEC concerning medical devices  

About 28 specific directives on motor vehicles based on Council 
Directive 70/156/EEC of 6 February 1970 on the approximation 
of the laws of the Member States relating to the type-approval of 
motor vehicles and their trailers 

More  than  10  directives  setting  geometrical  requirements  for 
motor  vehicles  (e.g.  Council  Directive 92/21/EEC  of  31 March 
1992  on  the  masses  and  dimensions  of  motor  vehicles  of 
category M1) 

25  Directives  setting  essential  requirements  for 
the  free 
movement  of  certain  product  categories  within  the  internal 
market (the so-called “new approach” Directives) 

Directive  2002/87/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 16 December 2002 on the supplementary supervision 
of  credit  institutions,  insurance  undertakings  and  investment 
firms  in  a  financial  conglomerate  and  amending  Council 
Directives  73/239/EEC,  79/267/EEC,  92/49/EEC,  92/96/EEC, 
93/6/EEC  and  93/22/EEC,  and  Directives  98/78/EC  and 
2000/12/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council 

Recast into a regulation to improve consistency and enable the 
use of IT for information transmission. 

Once  Directive  70/156//EEC  recast  is  finally  adopted,  the 
Commission  will  be  able  to  repeal,  probably  in  2007, 
approximately  28  out  of  56  directives  (by  making  UNECE 
regulations  compulsory).  The  simplification  will  allow 
industry 
technical  developments  at 
to 
international level. 
Introduction  of  virtual  /  self  testing  to  reduce  costs  and 
administrative  burden  of  present  procedures.  Virtual  and  self 
testing  will  speed  up  product  development  and  reduce  costs 
for both industry and consumers 

to  adapt  faster 

Simplification of the certification rules  

Review 

Transport 
services 

Maritime transport 

Council  Directive  96/98/EC  of  20  December  1996  on  marine 
equipment 

Recast.  

EN 

40 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2008 

All sectors 

Taxation 

Council  Directive  2003/49/EC  of  3  June  2003  on  a  common 
system  of  taxation  applicable  to  interest  and  royalty  payments 
made between associated companies of different Member States 
as amended 

Recast  to  simplify  the  existing  Community  legislation  by 
consolidating the legal text and by simplifying the procedures 
relating to exemption from withholding tax 

Agricultural  and 
foodstuff 
industry 

Dairy sector 

Dried fodder 

Council  Regulation  (EC)  No  1788/2003  of  29  September  2003 
establishing a levy in the milk and milk products sector 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1786/2003 of 29 September 2003 on 
the common organisation of the market in dried fodder 

Review  of 
proposals 

Review  of 
proposals 

the  provisions  accompanied  by  appropriate 

the  provisions  accompanied  by  appropriate 

Manufacturing 
industry 

Pressure  vessels  and 
equipments 

Environment 
Waste 

Council  Directive  76/767/EEC  of  27  July  1976  on 
the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
common  provisions  for  pressure  vessels  and  methods  for 
inspecting them 

Council  Directive  87/404/EEC  of  25  June  1987  on 
the 
harmonization  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to 
simple pressure vessels 

the 
Council  Directive  97/23/EC  of  29  May  1997  on 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  Sates  concerning 
pressure equipment 

Council Directive 1999/36/EC of 29 April 1999 on transportable 
pressure equipment 

Directive  2002/95/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council of 27 January 2003 on the restriction of the use of certain 
hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment 

Directive  2002/96/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the 
Council  of  27  January  2003  on  waste  electrical  and  electronic 
equipment (WEEE) 

*  Recast  into  one  legal  instrument  by  implementing  the  revised 

regulatory approach to technical harmonisation 

Review  based  on  the  experience  of  the  application  of  the 
Directives  and  based  on  the  development  of  the  state  of 
technology,  experience  gained,  environmental  requirements 
and the functioning of the internal market. The review shall, as 
appropriate,  be  accompanied  by  proposals  for  revision  of  the 
relevant provisions of these Directives. 

Transport 
services 

Air transport 

Council  Directive  91/670/EEC  of 16 December  1991 on mutual 
acceptance of personnel licences for the exercise of functions in 

Once  the  competencies  of  the  European  Aviation  Safety 
Agency  are  extended,  notably  as  far  as  the  air  operations  and 

EN 

41 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
civil aviation 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91 of 16 December 1991 on 
the  harmonization  of  technical  requirements  and  administrative 
procedures in the field of civil aviation 

pilot licences are concerned, the two above  mentioned acts as 
well  as  its  technical  adaptations  and  modifications  will  be 
abrogated. 

Infrastructure 

Council  Regulation  (EC) 2236/95  laying down general  rules  for 
the  granting  of  Community  financial  aid  in  the  field  of  trans-
European networks 

Recast 

Road transport 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3821/85 of 20 December 1985 on 
recording equipment in road transport 

Recast 

Recast:  one  single  regulation  will  ensure  consistency  in 
treatment  of  different  parts  of  the  sector  and  coherence  in  the 
regulatory approach to the sector 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  881/92  of  26  March  1992  on 
access to the market in the carriage of goods by road within the 
Community to or from the territory of a Member State or passing 
across the territory of one or more Member States 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  684/92  of  16  March  1992  on 
common  rules  for  the  international  carriage  of  passengers  by 
coach and bus 

First  Council  Directive  of  23  July  1962  on  the  establishment  of 
common  rules  for  certain  types  of  carriage  of  goods  by  road 
between Member States 

Council  Regulation  (EEC)  No  3118/93  of  25  October  1993 
laying  down  the  conditions  under  which  non-resident  carriers 
may  operate  national  road  haulage  services  within  a  Member 
State 

Commission Directive 98/12/EC of 27 January 1998 adapting to 
technical  progress  Council  Directive  71/320/EEC  on 
the 
approximation  of  the  laws  of  the  Member  States  relating  to  the 
braking devices of certain categories of motor vehicles and their 
trailers  

Regulation (EC) No 484/2002 of the European Parliament and of 
the  Council  of  1  March  2002  amending  Council  Regulations 
(EEC)  No  881/92  and  (EEC)  No  3118/93  for  the  purposes  of 
establishing a driver attestation 

EN 

42 

EN 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Maritime Transport 

Regulation (EC) No 725/2004 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council of 31 March 2004 on enhancing ship and port facility 
security  

Recast 

Recast  into  a  single  Council  directive  establishing  the  Basic 
Safety Standards for the protection against the dangers arising 
from exposure to ionising radiation  

Energy  

Radiation protection 

Council  Directive  89/618/Euratom  of  27  November  1989  on 
informing the general public about health protection measures to 
be  applied  and  steps  to  be  taken  in  the  event  of  a  radiological 
emergency 

Council  Directive  90/641/Euratom  of  4  December  1990  on  the 
operational  protection  of  outside  workers  exposed  to  the  risk  of 
ionizing radiation during their activities in controlled areas 

Council  Directive  92/3/Euratom  of  3  February  1992  on  the 
supervision  and  control  of  shipments  of  radioactive  waste 
between Member States and into and out of the Community 

Council  Directive  96/29/Euratom  of  13  May  1996  laying  down 
basic safety standards for the protection of the health of workers 
and  the  general  public  against  the dangers  arising  from  ionizing 
radiation 

Council  Directive  97/43/Euratom  of  30  June  1997  on  health 
protection of individuals against the dangers of ionizing radiation 
in  relation 
to  medical  exposure,  and  repealing  Directive 
84/466/Euratom 

Council  Directive  2003/122/Euratom  of  22  December  2003  on 
the control of high-activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan 
sources 

Council  Regulation  (Euratom)  No  1493/93  of  8  June  1993  on 
shipments of radioactive substances between Member States 

93/552/Euratom:  Commission  Decision  of  1  October  1993 
establishing  the  standard  document  for  the  supervision  and 
control  of  shipments  of  radioactive  waste  referred  to  in  Council 
Directive 92/3/Euratom 

90/143/Euratom:  Commission  Recommendation  of  21  February 
1990  on  the  protection  of  the  public  against  indoor  exposure  to 
radon 

EN 

43 

EN 

 
  
 
 
Commission  Recommendation  of  20  December  2001  on  the 
protection  of  the  public  against  exposure  to  radon  in  drinking 
water supplies (notified under document number C(2001) 4580)  

EN 

44 

EN