Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the European Union
Date: 2007-01-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: European Union, action programme, administrative formalities, application of EU law, operating cost, overheads

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 24.1.2007 
COM(2007) 23 final 

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

Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the European Union 

{SEC(2007) 84} 
{SEC(2007) 85} 

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

Action Programme for Reducing Administrative Burdens in the European Union 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In November 2006, the Commission proposed launching an ambitious Action Programme to 
reduce  the  administrative  burden  of  existing  regulation  in  the  EU.  As  part  of  this,  the 
Commission proposed that the 2007 Spring European Council fix a reduction target of 25 %, 
to  be  achieved  jointly  by  the  EU  and  Member  States  by  20121.  This  underlines  the 
Commission’s commitment to Better Regulation as part of the “Growth and Jobs” strategy. 

The overall 25 % reduction target is a joint objective, which can only be attained on the basis 
of a shared responsibility and a common endeavour by the Member States and the European 
Institutions. It is important that all parties involved in this process take appropriate and quick 
action, so that the political objective can be translated into operational measures, to the benefit 
of the business community, in particular of the small and medium sized enterprises, and of the 
consumers.  

This Action Programme is not about deregulation. Nor does it aim to change policy objectives 
set out in the existing Community legislation or the level of ambition in existing legislative 
texts. Rather it represents an important effort to streamline and make less burdensome the way 
in  which  policy  objectives  are  implemented  –  one  important  measure  of  the  quality  of 
regulation at every level. Unnecessary and disproportionate administrative burdens can have a 
real economic impact. They are also seen as an irritant and a distraction for business and are 
often identified as a priority target for simplification. The Commission is committed to assist 
in  suppressing  these  unnecessary  burdens  at  all  levels  and  underlines  that  this  is  a  shared 
responsibility of the Member States and the European Institutions.  

This  Action  Programme  sets  out  how  the  Commission  proposes  that  the  information 
obligations (IOs) should be identified, measured and reduced. The programme will measure 
administrative costs, take a judgement on which of these costs constitute unnecessary burdens 
and  reduce  unnecessary  administrative  burdens.  Practically,  as  the  measurement  exercise 
delivers  its  results,  the  Commission  will  analyse  these  and  take  the  required  initiatives 
towards  reduction  of  the  burdens  that  are  unnecessary.  The  strategy  presented  in  this 
Communication is ambitious and its success depends to a great extent on active support and 
cooperation  from  Member  States  and  the  other  EU  institutions.  The  pilot  project  and  the 
national  measurements  carried  out  to  date2  have  confirmed  that  the  reduction  of 

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2 

Commission  working  document  COM(2006)  691:  "Measuring  administrative  costs  and  reducing 
administrative burdens in the European Union"; Communication from the Commission to the Council, 
the  European  Parliament,  the  European  Economic  and  Social  Committee  and  the  Committee  of  the 
Regions COM(2006) 689 : "A strategic review of Better Regulation in the European Union". 
"Pilot project on administrative burdens", WIFO-CEPS, October 2006. 

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administrative burdens is a joint responsibility of the European Parliament, the Council, the 
Commission and the Member States.  

Table  1  summarises  the  different  components  of  the  Action  Programme  and  refers  to  more 
detailed presentations of the individual building blocks in this Communication . 

Table  1  Constituent  components  of  the  EU  Action  Programme  for  reducing 
administrative burdens 

Methodology  for  measuring  costs  (Chapter  2  -  Sections  2.1-2.2)  and  principles  for 
reducing burdens (Chapter 5) 

Priority  areas  for  measuring  and  reducing unnecessary administrative  burdens  related 
to  EC  legislation  and  “purely”  national  and  regional  legislation  respectively  (Section 
2.3) 

Proposed organisational structure (Section 2.4) 

Targets for reducing Administrative Burdens (Chapter 3) 

Proposals for immediate action (Chapter 4) 

The focus of the Action Programme is on obsolete, redundant or repetitive IOs which should 
be clearly distinguished from legislative design features consistent or necessary for achieving 
the  benefits  of  legislation.  The  aim  is  to  reduce  unnecessary  administrative  burdens  on 
businesses;  however,  the  programme  will  also  bring  about  substantial  improvements  for 
consumers  e.g.  through  lower  prices.  It  is  clear  that  these  measures  should  not  compromise 
the  underlying  purpose  of  the  legislation  and  there  are  clearly  cases  where,  inter  alia,  for 
reasons  to  do  with  the  protection  of  public  health,  protection  of  workers'  rights  or  the 
environment  or  the  need  to  protect  the  Community's  financial  interests  and  ensuring  sound 
financial management, information obligations will remain necessary. 

In essence it is proposed that the Commission, with the help of the Member States, measures 
administrative burdens related to Community legislation and national transposition, and draws 
up  appropriate  reduction  proposals  while  Member  States  measure  and  reduce  the 
administrative  burdens  of  purely  national  and  regional  legislation.  The  Programme  will 
commence  in  May  2007  and  will  aim  to  provide  by  November  2008,  an  assessment  of 
administrative  costs  imposed  by  the  selected  Community  legislation.  This  will  contribute  to 
the  reduction  of  administrative  burdens  on  businesses  by  25%  by  2012.  To  achieve  this 
ambitious goal, Member States and the Commission must work together to map, measure and 
reduce the unnecessary burdens on businesses.  

The Programme will foster long term economic benefits, while delivering tangible, concrete 
results  in  the  short  to  medium  term.  The  emphasis  of  the  Programme  is  on  reducing 
unnecessary  administrative  burdens  in  specific  priority  areas.  The  priority  areas  concerning 
EU legislation have been identified on the basis of the findings of a pilot project3 completed 
in  October  2006,  stakeholder  contributions  to  the  rolling  simplification  programme  and  the 
results  of  the  consultation  launched  by  the  Commission  working  paper  adopted  on  14 

3 

"Pilot project on administrative burdens", WIFO-CEPS, October 2006. 

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November  2006.  The  selected  priority  areas  cover  the  legislative  requirements  that  account 
for the vast majority of the administrative costs on business, thus allowing the Commission 
and  the  responsible  legislators  to  concentrate  their  efforts  and  resources  on  areas  where  the 
most significant impact on improving the regulatory environment for business can be made; 
however,  the  corresponding  modifications  should  only  be  made  where  they  would  not 
jeopardise the underlying objectives of the legislation. At a later stage, the Commission may 
decide to extend the Programme to other areas that are currently not included in the priority 
list. 

Alongside the reduction target and priority areas, the Action Programme includes a list of fast 
track  actions  to  be  launched  during  the  German  Presidency  (Annex  III).  These  items 
constitute a first contribution to reaching the reduction target by producing quick short term 
results  and  underline  the  importance  the  Commission  attaches  to  the  administrative  burden 
reduction strategy. The Action Programme will continually seek to produce concrete results 
that make life easier for businesses.  

1.1. 

Administrative burdens and the EU business environment 

EU legislation pursues objectives set out in the Treaties and public policy objectives that are 
better  reached  at  Community  than  at  Member  State  level.  This  includes  ensuring  that  the 
conditions  for  an  efficiently  functioning  Internal  Market  are  in  place,  including  appropriate 
levels  of  safety,  security  and  social  standards.  Information  and  reporting  is  central  to  the 
mutual confidence at the heart of the internal market: to guarantee that the level playing field 
is  working.  Information  and  reporting  is  also  important  in  policy  areas  such  as  cohesion 
policy and agriculture where public funds are administered to beneficiaries. But the balance 
between  the  benefits  of  such  requirements  and  their  administrative  burden  needs  constant 
vigilance, and can change over time –some of the existing procedures in place have become 
needlessly  time-consuming,  excessively  complicated  or  obsolete,  while  in  some  cases  the 
information required is already available from other sources. 

Administrative requirements are an important determinant of the business environment since 
businesses across the EU are obliged to spend considerable amounts of time filling in forms 
and  reporting  on  a  wide  range  of  issues.  These  costs  are  presently  estimated  to  amount  to 
3.5%  of  GDP  in  the  EU.  By  reducing,  for  example,  unnecessary  reporting  a  company's 
employees can spend more time on core business activities which reduce production costs and 
allow  additional  investment  and  innovation  activities  to  materialise,  which  in  turn  should 
improve productivity and overall competitiveness. 

The  joint  target  to  reduce  administrative  burdens  by  25  %  in  2012  covers  Community 
legislation as well as national regulatory measures. Achieving this objective could lead to an 
increase in the level of EU GDP of approximately 1.4% or € 150 billion in the medium term4. 

1.2. 

Defining administrative costs and burdens 

It is important to clarify the definition of administrative costs and burdens respectively – these 
definitions are provided below on the basis of the agreed international Standard Cost Model 
manual and the EU Standard Cost Model Methodology (EU SCM) definitions5. 

4 

Gelauff,  G.M.M.  and  A.M.  Lejour  (2005).  Five  Lisbon  highlights:  The  economic  impact  of  reaching 
these targets. CPB Document 104. CPB, The Hague. 

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Compliance costs are all the costs of complying with regulation, with the exception of direct financial costs 
and long term structural consequences. In the context of the Standard Cost Model, these can be divided into 
‘substantive compliance costs’ and ‘administrative costs’. 

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.  In  some  cases,  the  information  has  to  be 
transferred  to  public  authorities  or  private  parties.  In  others,  it  only  has  to  be  available  for  inspection  or 
supply on request. 

An important distinction must be made between information that would be collected by businesses even in the 
absence of the legislation and information that would not be collected without the legal provisions. The costs 
induced by the latter are called administrative burdens. Some of the administrative burdens are necessary if 
the underlying objectives of the legislation and prescribed level of protection defined in the Treaties are to be 
met  effectively;  for  instance  where  information  is  needed  to  make  markets  transparent.  But  there  are  also 
many  cases  where  burdens  can  be  streamlined  and  reduced  without  affecting  the  underlying  objectives  as 
such – the latter burdens are clearly unnecessary. 

The Action Programme is aimed at measuring administrative costs, identifying and reducing administrative 
burdens, without undermining the underlying objective of the legislations6. 

2. 

DEVELOPING AN EU WIDE MEASUREMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS 

2.1. 

The EU SCM model 

On  23  March  2005,  the  European  Council  requested  “the  Commission  and  the  Council  to 
consider  a  common  methodology  for  measuring  administrative  burdens  with  the  aim  of 
reaching  an  agreement  by  the  end  of  2005”.  On  16  March  2005  the  Commission's 
Communication on Better Regulation for Growth and Jobs in the European Union included, 
as a companion Staff Working Paper, a detailed outline of a possible “EU Net Administrative 
Cost Model” 7 based on the Standard Cost Model8.  

The  outline  of  an  EU  Net  Administrative  Cost  Model  was  amended  and  refined  through  a 
pilot  phase  carried  out  from  April  to  September  2005  that  led  the  Commission  to  present  a 
revised  methodology,  also  called  the  "EU  SCM"9.  The  Commission  listed  a  number  of 
possible  improvements  to  the  EU  SCM,  while  making  clear  that  such  optimisation  was  no 

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EU model – manual, March 2006, p. 1 
(http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs/sec_2005_0791_anx_10_en.pdf);  International  Standard 
Cost  Model  Manual  –  measuring  and  reducing  administrative  burdens  for  businesses,  October  2005, 
p. 7 (http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/54/34227698.pdf). 
"International SCM manual" http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/32/54/34227698.pdf. 
European Commission, Staff Working Paper, Annex to the 2005 Communication on Better Regulation 
for Growth and Jobs in the European Union, Minimizing Administrative Costs Imposed by Legislation, 
Detailed Outline of a Possible EU Net Administrative Cost Model - SEC(2005) 175, 16.3.2005. 
The use of the SCM has shown significant progress with regulatory reform in several Member States, 
and  this  Action  Programmes  clearly  aims  at  building  upon  these  experiences.  The  SCM  is  currently 
being used by 17 Member States and the OECD. http://www.administrative-burdens.com/ 
See  Staff  Working  Document,  Developing  an  EU  common  methodology  for  assessing  administrative 
costs  imposed  by  EU  legislation  -  Report  on  the  Pilot  Phase  (April–  September  2005),  SEC(2005) 
1329,  annexed  to  the  Communication  on  a  “EU  common  methodology  for  assessing  administrative 
costs imposed by legislation” - COM(2005) 518, 21.10.2005. 

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precondition for its application. An operational manual for applying the model was included 
on  15  March  2006  in  the  Impact  Assessment  guidelines10  and  translated  in  all  EU  official 
languages  to  facilitate  methodological  convergence.  The  EU  SCM  has  been  applied  in  a 
number  of  published  or  upcoming  Impact  Assessments11  to  ensure  that  any  administrative 
burdens generated by new legislation are justified and minimised12.  

2.2. 

The EU measurement and the identification of Information Obligations (IOs) 

The  Action  Programme  will  use  the  EU  Standard  Cost  Model  (EU  SCM)13  to  identify  the 
most  burdensome  Information  Obligations  (IOs)  -  requirements  for  submitting  information 
(e.g.  submission  of  a  certificate  of  conformity)  in  the  priority  areas  proposed  in  this 
Communication,  to  assess  them  and  to  generate  insights  into  how  these  burdens  can  be 
reduced.  

A key finding of the pilot project is that the identification of specific IOs must constitute the 
basis  of  the  measurement  programme.  Even  if  the  number  of  IOs  is  known  to  vary 
considerably  across  Member  States14,  IOs  are  easier  to  compare  than  entire  pieces  of 
legislation which vary across Member States. Hence, the IOs constitute the building blocks of 
any  administrative  burden  reduction  programme.  This  implies  a  clear  classification  of  such 
IOs in the basic acts and in the subsequent implementation rules, both at the EU and national 
levels. The first stage of the exercise will, therefore, consist of a precise mapping of all the 
major  IOs  legally  required  by  the  legislative  acts  covered.  IOs  prescribed  by  Community 
legislation will be mapped first, allowing those that are linked to Community legislation but 
added  by  Member  States  in  their  transposing  legislation  to  be  mapped  subsequently.  The 
Commission  and  Member  States  will  work  together  closely  to  assign  the  IOs  before  the 
measurement of costs takes place.  

As  the  Member  States  which  have  already  completed  their  baseline  measurements  adopted 
slightly different variants to the original SCM, cross-country comparisons of the existing data 
are difficult to make, in particular when trying to aggregate results and determine the origin of 
the IOs. Some technical harmonisation will be required (See Annex I). 

2.3. 

The scope of the action programme: which legislation will be evaluated 

In line with the Growth and Jobs strategy, and following consultation and discussion on the 
working document15, the Commission proposes to limit the scope of the Action Programme to 
obligations put on businesses16. 

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12 

13 
14 
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See http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs_en.htm. 
See, for instance, Impact on postal services SEC(2006) 1292 accompanying COM(2006) 594. 
Though  they  share  a  common  methodology,  the  administrative  burden  reducing  exercise  is  different 
from  normal  Impact  Assessment  practice.  This  administrative  burden  exercise  aims  to  provide  a 
comprehensive ex-post measurement of legislation in a policy area for all levels of legislation and then 
subsequent  identification of  reduction  targets.  Impact  assessment,  on  the  other hand,  measures  all  the 
costs and benefits of available policy options, while the administrative burden methodology is only a 
partial  measurement  tool  which  is  to  be  applied  proportionately  and  used  only  in  assessing  ex-ante 
impacts of proposed changes of legislation (marginal approach). 
SEC(2005) 175. 
The UK mapped almost 20 000 obligations against 1 100 in Denmark and 3 000 in the Netherlands. 
Commission  working  document  COM(2006)  691:  "Measuring  administrative  costs  and  reducing 
administrative burdens in the European Union". 

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Moreover,  following  consultation  on  the  November  Working  Document,  there  is  broad 
agreement  that  the  Commission  with  the  Member  States  should  focus  on  identifying  IOs, 
measuring their cost and identifying measures to reduce burdens of17: 

As regards Member States and the Commission: 

•  EC regulations and directives (including IOs originating from international law) in 
those priority areas where burdens are highest and/or which are perceived to be so 
("business irritants") 

and 

•  national  transposition  and  implementing  measures  associated  with  these  EC 

regulations, directives. 

As regards Member States: 

•  Member States should meanwhile either carry out full baseline measurements of 
IOs  in  their  country  or  target  priority  areas  for  measurement  and  reduction  of 
purely national and regional IOs.  

The  Commission  is  encouraged  by  the  fact  that  in  2006  seventeen  Member  States,  up  from 
eleven the previous year, have decided to measure and reduce administrative burdens and that 
a further two are testing the methodology. The action programme would foresee that by 2009 
all  Member  States  would  have  completed  the  measurements  of  IOs  in  the  key  national  and 
regional  priority  areas.  Member  States  and  the  Commission  will  also  need  to  agree  on  the 
'across  the  board'  baseline  measurement  in  priority  areas  and  reduction  targets,  shared 
between the Community and the Member States in function of the origins of administrative 
burdens. Following discussions and consultation on the Working Document of 14 November, 
the Commission has identified the following priority areas concerning Community legislation 
which should be addressed: 

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

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17 

Company law 

Pharmaceutical legislation 

Working environment/employment relations 

Tax law (VAT) 

Statistics 

Agriculture and agricultural subsidises 

Food safety 

Nonetheless,  the  Commission  will  analyse  administrative  requirements  for  all  beneficiaries  of  the 
Cohesion  policy.  In  addition,  this  action  programme  does  not  prevent  other  Commission  initiatives 
aimed  at  reducing  administrative  burdens  for  citizens,  public  administrations  and/or  the  voluntary 
sector. 
For further technical details see EU Model - manual 
(http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/docs/sec_2005_0791_anx_10_en.pdf). 

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8. 

9. 

10. 

11. 

12. 

13. 

Transport 

Fisheries 

Financial services 

Environment 

Cohesion policy  

Public procurement 

In Annex II a list of these priority areas is accompanied by specific legislation in these areas 
selected for the measurement. In areas where work to measure administrative costs or assess 
broad  economic  impact  of  legislation  is  already  in  progress  in  2007  or  planned  (e.g.  in 
Company  Law,  Agriculture,  Public  Procurement  and  Cohesion  policy),  close  coordination 
will  be  ensured  to  maximise  synergies.  Should  further  work  point  at  highly  burdensome 
pieces  of  legislation  at  EU  level  that  have  been  omitted  in  the  annexed  list,  these  will  be 
added.  The  list  of  priority  areas  and  specific  legislation  is  without  prejudice  to  subsequent 
actions to reduce administrative burdens. In some cases, measurements may even reveal that 
all burdens imposed by legislation are indeed necessary. Clearly, these obligations will not be 
removed. 

2.4. 

Organisational issues 

The  Commission  proposes  that  the  approach  outlined  above  be  taken  forward  through  a 
partnership  with  the  Member  States.  The  Commission  will  ensure  the  compatibility  of  this 
exercise  with  its  earlier  commitment  to  on-time  delivery  of  proposals  listed  in  its  Work 
Programmes. 

2.4.1.  External consultants 

The Commission will outsource the execution of the actual measurement of the administrative 
costs of Community legislation to an external consultant to be chosen in early 2007 following 
a call for tenders. The consultants will conduct the measurements, in close cooperation with 
Member  States  and  the  Commission;  will  report  on  the  pieces  of  legislation  selected  for 
measurement  and  provide  suggestions  to  the  Commission  for  reduction  in  all  policy  areas. 
The coverage of the Programme may be extended in function of the identification of further 
IOs eligible for reduction 

2.4.2.  Member States and Commission  

The project will be monitored by a Steering Group and several expert subgroups to be defined 
at a later stage.  

It is proposed that Member States' involvement be channelled through the High Level Group 
of National Experts on Better Regulation. This group will regularly review progress, provide 
advice to the Commission and ensure that contact points in Member States administrations be 
made  available  to  the  Commission  services  and  their  contractors.  Other  groups  of  experts 
advising the Commission will serve as contact point for specific priority areas. 

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It is also envisaged to exchange views on a regular basis with the existing SCM network and 
to seek their input on methodological issues that may arise. In addition, the Commission will 
work with Member States to identify and disseminate good practices for reducing burdensome 
Information Obligations at national/regional level. 

The Commission intends to regularly report on the progress of the Action Programme to the 
European Parliament and the Council. 

2.4.3.  Relation to other relevant ongoing activities 

The  Community  Action  Programme  for  reducing  administrative  burdens  runs  in  parallel  to 
several  other  ongoing  activities,  in  particular  the  Commission’s  rolling  simplification 
programme which already contains a number of pieces of legislation included in the priority 
areas defined in this Action Programme. The reduction of administrative burdens is a specific 
form of simplification and the measurement and reduction analysis in the Action Programme 
will, therefore, feed into the Commission's simplification programme more generally. 

A  number  of  ongoing  or  planned  studies  on  the  measurement  of  administrative  burdens  in 
specific  sectors  will  also  be  of  high  relevance  to  the  Action  Programme18.  For  example,  as 
regards Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 a study on the measurement of administrative 
burdens for farmers resulting from the 2003 CAP reform was launched in December 2006. 

2.4.4.  Deliverables of the measurement and simplification proposals 

This  measurement  exercise  will  take  approximately  two  years  but  this  Action  Programme 
intends  to  spark  off  immediate  action.  The  Commission  will  not  wait  until  the  end  of  the 
project  before  making  proposals  for  reducing  administrative  burdens.  During 
the 
measurements,  the  Commission  will  continually  seek  to  identify  requirements  that  can  be 
simplified, removed or modified in order to reduce unnecessary administrative burdens.  

2.4.5. 

Involvement of stakeholders 

The Action Programme will take a transparent approach, continuously replying on input from 
stakeholders all over Europe19. Furthermore, European businesses will have the possibility to 
become  deeply  involved  in  the  measurements  exercise,  e.g.  through  in-depth  interviews. 
Finally, electronic possibilities for optimized interaction will also be investigated. 

3. 

TARGETS FOR REDUCING ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS 

The  Commission  has  proposed  an  ambitious  strategy  to  map:  measure  and  reduce 
administrative  burdens  in  the  EU.  A  common  reduction  target  ensures  political  momentum 
and  fosters  responsibility  at  all  levels.  With  targets,  it  becomes  easier  to  monitor  the  whole 
process of administrative burden reductions20. What gets measured gets done. 

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19 

20 

COM(2006) 689, p. 10. 
This  will  be  structured  through  the  pilot  project  proposed  in  the  2007  budget  (budget  reference  line: 
26 01 08. 
World Bank Group Review of the Dutch Administrative Burden Reduction Program, November 2006; 
Administrative Simplification In The Netherlands, OECD, 24 November 2006. 

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The Commission has proposed a joint EU target, covering Community as well as national and 
regional levels, for reducing the administrative burdens by 25% in 2012.This mirrors national 
targets where they have been set21. 

3.1. 

Target setting in four Member States 

By  examining  actions  taken  in  Member  States  which  have  already  embarked  on 
administrative burdens measurement and reduction programmes, the following lessons can be 
drawn for the development of an EU strategy.  

The  evidence  from  the  four  Member  States  that  have  carried  out  a  full  baseline 
measurements,  covering  both  burdens  originating  at  Community  and  Member  State  levels, 
suggests  that  a  25%  reduction  target  can  be  met  by  updating  and  streamlining  information 
requirements  at  both  levels.  This  is  further  corroborated  by  the  more  partial  measurement 
exercises  carried  out  by  a  larger  number  of  Member  States  in  individual  sectors.  These 
empirical results demonstrate the existence of significant administrative burdens that can be 
reduced by relying on a number of cost reduction methods set out below without affecting the 
objectives of the underlying legislation. 

3.2. 

Lessons for developing EU targets 

3.2.1.  The joint 25% target as an anchor for the programme 

The experience of the Member States reviewed suggests that a general target should be set at 
an  early  stage  in  conjunction  with  the  launching  of  a  measurement  exercise  based  on  the 
agreed  methodology.  The  Commission  considers  that  the  European  Council  should  set  this 
joint target in  spring 2007.  It  is proposed that it should amount to an administrative burden 
reduction of 25% in the entire EU and that this target be used as a political anchor to generate 
momentum for action.  

More specifically, the Commission also considers that the European Council should endorse a 
25%  reduction  target  for  both  EC  legislation  and  its  transposition  and  implementing 
measures. The European Council should call on Member States to set comparable targets at 
national  level  by  October  2008  at  the  latest.  It  is  only  through  this  combined  strategy  that 
businesses will benefit from clear improvements in the business environment. 

3.2.2.  The EU and Member States joining action to reduce administrative burdens 

In  this  Action  Programme,  the  Commission  presents  its  plans  for  measuring  and  reducing 
administrative burdens related to Community legislation and related transpositions measures. 
However,  reaping  the  full  benefits  of  a  joint  25  %  target  requires  equal  commitment  from 
Member States with regards to purely national and regional measures and transposition. 

For those parts of the measurement to be carried out by the Commission with the help of the 
Member States, action will be directed to burdens originating in the priority areas listed in this 

21 

Some countries have set a ‘political’ overall target before getting the results (UK, SE) or even before 
starting the measurement phase (NL, DK, CZ, AT). All these countries have set a target of 25% with 
the exception of the Czech Republic (20%).  

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Action Programme22. It is expected that the joint 25% target will be achieved within 5 years. 
It is proposed to take stock of progress in Spring 2009. This timeframe is ambitious given that 
a measurement exercise on this scale is unprecedented and will take a considerable amount of 
time  –  presently  estimated  at  least  1,5  year.  The  Commission  and  the  Member  States  will 
need  to  draw  up  reduction  proposals  indicating  why  information  obligations  are  no  longer 
necessary. Finally, the changes necessary at Community level will, to a large extent, need to 
be  decided  through  the  interinstitutional  process.  This  timeframe  will,  therefore,  require 
strong  commitments of the  EU institutions  and  Member States  to  ensure  that  the  legislative 
processes  at  EU  and  at  national  levels  are  completed  in  time  for  the  relevant  measures  to 
become effective by 2012. 

It  is  proposed  that  more  specific  partial  targets  be  set,  by  policy  areas  on  the  basis  of  the 
results  of  the  measurements  by  the  Spring  2009  European  Council:  higher  reduction  targets 
could  be  envisaged  in  policy  areas  where  the  administrative  burdens  are  particularly  heavy 
and the scope for reduction is significant. Generally speaking it should be clear that the 25% 
is an overall political target. Consequently, differential targets will be envisaged. In particular 
targets  may  differ  between  Member  States  depending  on  regulatory  traditions,  in  different 
sectors  and  even  pieces  of  legislation,  depending  on  regulatory  intensity  and  eligibility  for 
administrative simplification.  

It  is  proposed  that  the  target  be  set  with  respect  to  the  level  of  administrative  burdens 
prevailing  during  2004  –  thereby  ensuring  that  the  Community  and  Member  States  are 
credited for action that has already been taken23. 

Given the fact that the future administrative burden simplification proposals will not change 
either  the  political  objectives  of  the  specific  proposals  or  the  substance  of  the  Community 
policy,  it  is  recommended  that  the  three  institutions  agree  that  the  administrative  burden 
reduction proposals should receive priority treatment in interinstitutional decision making24. 

4. 

A STRATEGY FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION 

These targets add up to an ambitious long-term agenda for change. But the Commission also 
proposes to start work already in the first half of 2007 on a limited number of administrative 
burden  reduction  proposals  at  Community  level.  The  Commission  has  identified  a  series  of 
fast  track  actions  where  significant  benefits  could  be  generated  through  relatively  minor 
changes in the underlying legislation. They should thus be relatively straightforward to decide 
and implement without challenging the overall purpose of the legislation. The proposals are 
based  on  stakeholder  consultation  and  suggestions  from  experts  in  Member  States  and  the 
Commission.  Translating  these  amendments  quickly  into  real  change  on  the  ground  would 
require  a  strong  commitment  by  both  Council  and  Parliament.  The  Commission  would 
therefore invite the European Council to call upon the Council and the European Parliament 
to give special priority to the measures set out in Annex III once the Commission has made 
the corresponding proposals. 

22 

23 
24 

The administrative burden related to Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 is measured in a separate 
study  which  is  ongoing.  The  results  of  this  study  will  be  available  in  2007  and  will  be  taken  into 
account  when  the  regulation  will  be  up  for  review  in  2008.  Any  reduction  in  administrative  burden 
resulting from this review will be taken into account for the 25% administrative burden target. 
The effects of reductions achieved in the Rolling Simplification Programme will also be assessed. 
Interinstitutional agreement on Better Regulation, December 2003 (OJ C 321, 31.12.3003, p. 1). 

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Annex III proposes 11 items that could reduce administrative burdens by approximately 1.3 
billion euro25. 

5. 

COMMON PRINCIPLES FOR REDUCING ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS 

Measuring administrative requirements in the EU is not a goal in itself. The aim is to reduce 
red tape for businesses in Europe. Regarding the question of how to reduce these burdens, the 
Commission proposes that the following principles should guide the process since they could 
make a significant contribution to reducing administrative burdens: 

•  Reduce the frequency of reporting requirements to the minimum levels necessary 
to  meet  the  substantive  objectives  of  the  legislation  and  align  the  frequency  of 
reporting across different related pieces of legislation, where possible; 

•  Review  whether  the  same  information  obligation  is  not  requested  several  times 
through different channels and eliminate overlaps (e.g. a number of environmental 
information  obligations  are  presently  required  by  more  than  one  piece  of 
legislation); 

•  Require  electronic  and  web-based  reporting  where  paper  based  information 

gathering is presently required, using intelligent portals where possible; 

•  Introduce  thresholds  for  information  requirements,  limiting  them  for  small  and 
medium sized companies wherever possible, or rely on sampling (it is well known 
that  SMEs  suffer  particularly  strongly  from  administrative  burdens  –  data 
collection for information purposes should take this into account); 

•  Consider substituting information requirements on all businesses in a sector by a 
risk based approach – targeting information requirements on those operators that 
perform the highest risk activities; 

•  Reduce  or  eliminate  information  requirements  where  these  relate  to  substantive 
requirements  that  have  been  dropped  or  modified  since  the  information 
requirement  was  adopted  (e.g.  there  are  still  information  obligations  in  road 
transport  dating  back  to  the  time  that  permits  were  required  to  carry  out 
international transport);  

•  Provide official clarification of complex pieces of legislation that may either slow 

down business activities, or require acquiring legal expertise. 

6. 

THE NEXT STEPS 

The Commission envisaged a number of steps in its Strategic Review of Better Regulation in 
the  European  Union26.  These  include  the  presentation  of  this  Action  Programme  to  reduce 
administrative  burdens  on  the  basis  of  consultation  results  on  the  Commission  working 
document and the Strategic Review of Better Regulation. 

25 
26 

The total amount is still in course of calculation. 
COM(2006) 689, 14.11.2006. 

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2006

2007

2008

2009

2010-2012

2012

Programme for reduction of administrative burdens

January

March

May

October

October 

December

Spring 
Council

Spring 
Council

1. Community level

Pilot study 
determined:
Priority areas (EU & 
national)
Reach a 
methodological 
agreement

Strategic Review of 
Better Regulation

European Council 
conclusions on 
AB action 
programme 
(political target)

Action Programme 
on reducing AB
priority areas
low-hanging fruit
measurement 
(what/who)
targets 

Launch 
measurement 
and burden 
reduction

TARGETS
Commission 
proposal for 
targets and 
action for 
decision and 
implementation

Adoption of specific 
targets for AB 
reduction following  
report on Action 
Programme

Continued 
presentation 
of legal 
proposals to 
reduce AB

End of 
programme

Annual Progress 
Report
Update project on AB

Action on burden 
reduction

Simplification 
programme

2. Member States

Ongoing 
measurement 
exercise

Reporting in 
Implementation 
Reports

Member States
to set national 
targets and 
continue to 
report on 
implementation

Continue to 
report in 
Implementation 
Reports

Agree on 
reduction 
proposals 
and amend 
national 
legislation, 
including 
transposition 
measures

The  Commission,  the  other  EU  Institutions  and  the  Member  States  should  subsequently 
launch  the  measurement  programme  and  take  action  in  respect  of  the  fast  track  items.  The 
Commission's  large  measurement  of  EC  legislation  and  related  transposition  measures  will 
commence in the spring of 2007 and report in the fourth quarter of 2008. These actions will 
also  be  monitored  through  the  Rolling  Simplification  Programme  which  already  contains  a 
number  of  important  proposals  to  reduce  administrative  burdens27.  There  will  be  regular 
reporting  on  the  progress  in  the  reduction  of  administrative  burdens.  In  parallel,  Member 
States should engage in similar actions during this period and deliver on burden reductions by 
modifying national and/or regional legislation. Member States should report on their national 
administrative  burden  reduction  programmes  in  the  "Better  Regulation"  chapter  of  their 
progress  reports  in  the  context  of  the  "Growth  and  Jobs"  Strategy.  In  this  way,  the 
Commission will annually report on overall progress – at Community and national level – in 
its  Annual  Progress  Report  (APR)  on  the  Growth  and  Jobs  Strategy,  thereby  assisting  the 

27 

in 

the 

instance 

See  "First  progress  report  on  the  Simplification  Strategy  To  Improve  The  Regulatory  Environment", 
Staff  Working  Document,  October  2006.  For 
following  policy  areas: 
Environment:  review  of  the  Integrated  Pollution  Prevention  and  Control  Directive  (IPPC)  and  other 
related legislation on industrial emissions with a view to improving clarity and consistency (notably in 
terms  of  reporting)  and  streamlining  requirements;  Construction  products  Directive,  with  a  view  to 
clarifying  and reducing  the  administrative  burden,  in particular  for  SMEs,  through  more  flexibility  in 
the  formulation  and  use  of  technical  specifications,  lighter  certification  rules,  and  elimination  of  the 
implementation  obstacles  that  so  far  have  hampered  the  creation  of  a  full  internal  market  for 
construction products; statistics: lighten statistical reporting by economic operators, possibly exempting 
SMEs, taking into account the outcome of the ongoing pilot project on the measurement and reduction 
of administrative costs and the feasibility study to analyse the workability of a collection system limited 
to one flow. 

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European Council in giving further direction to this programme. As set out above, the Spring 
2009  European  Council  will  be  an  important  mid-point  in  the  Action  Programme  and  the 
2008  Commission  APR  will,  therefore,  contain  mid-term  assessment  of  the  Programme, 
accompanied, where necessary, by further proposals to strengthen it. 

It is expected that by March 2009 all Member States will have completed their measurement – 
at least in priority areas at national level and will be ready to set their own specific national 
targets.  For  Member  States  this  is  a  process  that  invariably  will  take  into  account  different 
starting points as several have already carried out baseline measurements and are advancing in 
their cost reduction programmes. 

Only if all actors involved engage in delivering in accordance with the above timetable, then 
the  Spring  European  Council  of  2012  will  be  able  to  take  stock  of  the  entire  strategic 
programme and conclude it. 

7. 

CONCLUSIONS 

The  Action  Programme  set  out  in  this  Communication  holds  out  the  prospect  of  making  a 
significant  contribution  to  improving  the  business  climate  in  the  EU.  It  contains  a  detailed 
road map for measuring and reducing unnecessary administrative burdens in the EU as well as 
targets to guide the process.  

The  Action  Programme  will  require  strong  commitment  from  Member  States  and  the  co-
legislator. The Spring 2007 European Council is, therefore, requested to: 

(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

Endorse  the  Action  Programme  for  Reducing  Administrative  burdens  set  out  in  this 
Communication,  including  the  priority  areas  chosen,  the  proposed  methodology, 
principles  for  reducing  burdens,  the  list  of  fast  track  actions  and  the  organisational 
structure. 

Invite  Member  States  to  support  the  Commission  with  the  measurement  of 
administrative burdens associated with Community legislation and transposition as set 
out in this Communication. 

Set  a  joint  reduction  target  for  administrative  burdens,  caused  by  EC  and  national 
legislation of 25% overall, to be achieved by 2012. To facilitate the attainment of this 
objective  a  25%  reduction  target  should  also  be  set  specifically  for  administrative 
burdens related to EC legislation and its transposition. This target will subsequently be 
differentiated  across  the  priority  areas  on  the  basis  of  the  results  of  the  Action 
Programme. 

Invite Member States to set administrative burden reduction targets at national level by 
October  2008,  at  the  latest,  and  to  report  on  the  measurement  and  reduction  of 
administrative  burdens  annually  in  their  national  Growth  and  Jobs  Strategy  progress 
reports, starting in October 2007. 

Call  upon  the  Council  and  the  European  Parliament  to  give  special  priority  to  the 
measures  set  out  in  Annex  III  once  the  Commission  has  made  the  corresponding 
proposals, with a view to adoption as soon as possible, in 2007. 

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14 

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Annex I: Minimum harmonisation requirements 

As  the  Member  States  which  have  already  completed  their  baseline  measurements  adopted 
slightly different variants to the original SCM, cross-country comparisons of the existing data 
are difficult to make, in particular when trying to aggregate results and determine the origin of 
the IOs.  

The pilot project completed in October 2006 has demonstrated that a certain minimum level 
of  harmonisation  of  definitions  will  be  required  to  allow  the  validation  and  comparison  of 
data across countries, to produce meaningful results at the EU level and for setting up of ad 
hoc reduction targets. This concerns in particular:  

•  the classifications by origin of IOs; 

•  the standardised cost ratios (overheads); 

•  the type of administrative activities concerned and the populations (segmentation 

of the number of sectors firms) affected; 

•  the definition of an “efficient business”; 

•  the entities concerned (e.g. households, businesses, administrations, etc.). 

In line with the Growth and Job Strategy, the Commission proposes to limit the scope of the 
Action Programme to obligations put on businesses28.

28 

Nonetheless,  the  Commission  will  analyse  administrative  requirements  for  all  beneficiaries  of  the 
Cohesion policy funds. This will serve as a pilot. In addition, this action programme does not prevent 
other  Commission 
initiatives  aimed  at  reducing  administrative  burdens  for  citizens,  public 
administrations and/or the voluntary sector. 

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Annex II: Priority areas for the Commission's measurement of administrative burdens deriving from information obligations  

No.  Area 

EC Legislation 

1  Company Law 1 

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. 
3rd Council Directive of 9 October 1978 (78/855/EEC) 

6th Council Directive of 17 December 1982 (82/891/EEC)  

Second Council Directive of 13 December 1976 on coordination 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. 

2  Pharmaceutical 
legislation  

Directive 2001/83/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 November 2001 on the Community code relating to medicinal 
products for human use  

Directive 2001/20/EC on the approximation of laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States relating to the 
implementation of good clinical practice in the conduct of clinical trials on medicinal products for human use 

3 

Working environment/ 
employment relations 

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 

Directive 92/57/EEC of 24 June 1992 on the implementation of minimum safety and health requirements at temporary or mobile 
construction sites 

4  Tax law (VAT) 

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 

5  Statistics 

Council Regulation (EEC) No 3330/91 on the statistics relating to the trading of goods between Member States  

Council Directive 2001/109/EC of the EP and Council on fruit trees; Council; Council Directive 93/23/EEC of 1 June 1993 on the statistical 
surveys to be carried out on pig production, Council Directive 93/24/EEC of 1 June 1993 on the statistical surveys to be carried out on 
bovine animals 

Council Regulation (EEC N) 3924/91of 19 December 1991 on the establishment of a Community survey 
of industrial production 

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

EN 

16 

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Annex II: Priority areas for the Commission's measurement of administrative burdens deriving from information obligations 

No.  Area 

EC Legislation 

6  Agriculture and 

Agricultural Subsidies 

Council Regulation (EC) 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 2. 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 Laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import 
and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products. 

7  Food Safety 

Regulation (EC) No 1760/2000 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 July 2000 establishing a system for the identification 
and registration of bovine animals and regarding the labelling of beef and beef products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 820/97 

Council Regulation (EC) No 21/2004 of 17 December 2003 establishing a system for the identification and registration of ovine and caprine 
animals and amending Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 and Directives 92/102/EEC and 64/432/EEC. 

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. 

Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 - Protection of animals during transport and related operations. 

Regulation 1830/2003 GMOs - traceability rules require that operators have in place system to hold information for 5 years. 

Council Directive Plant health – legislation requires operators to keep plant passports (certificates confirming compliance with EC legislation 
in this area) for 1 year. 

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

8  Transport 

Regulation (EC) No 561/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2006 on the harmonisation of certain social 
legislation relating to road transport and amending Council Regulations (EEC) No 3821/85 and (EC) No 2135/98 and repealing Council 
Regulation (EEC) No 3820/85 3  

(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);) 

9  Fisheries 

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

EN 

17 

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Annex II: Priority areas for the Commission's measurement of administrative burdens deriving from information obligations 

No.  Area 

EC Legislation 

10 

Financial Services 

Directive 2006/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 relating to the taking up and pursuit of the business of 
credit institutions. 

Directive 2006/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on the capital adequacy of investment firms and 
credit institutions. 

11  Environment 

 Regulation (EC) No 1013/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 14 June 2006 on shipments of waste 4 

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

Council Directive 96/61/EC of 24 September 1996 concerning integrated pollution prevention and control 5 

12 

Cohesion policy 

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive 2002/96/EC. 

Directive 2000/53/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 September 2000 on end-of life vehicles 

Directive 2003/105/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 December 2003 amending Council Directive 96/82/EC on the 
control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1105/2003 of 26 May 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 laying down general provisions on the 
Structural Funds. 

Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/1999 of 21 June 1999 laying down general provisions on the Structural Funds. 

13  Public Procurement 6  Directive 2004/17/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 coordinating the procurement procedures of entities 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 621/2004 of 1 April 2004 laying down rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1164/94 as 
regards information and publicity measures concerning the activities of the Cohesion Fund. 

operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors.  

Directive 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 31 March 2004 on the coordination of procedures for the award of 
public work contracts, public supply contracts and public service contracts. 

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1564/2005 of 7 September 2005 establishing standard forms for the publication of notices in the 
framework of public procurement procedures pursuant to Directives 2004/17/EC and 2004/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the 
Council (Text with EEA relevance). 

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(1) A separate study to measure administrative cost stemming from company law is already in progress. 
(2) The administrative burden related to Council Regulation (EC) No 1782/2003 is measured in a separate study which is ongoing. The results of this study will be available 
in 2007 and will be taken into account when the regulation will be up for review in 2008. Any reduction in administrative burden resulting from this review will be taken into 
account for the 25% administrative burden target. 
(3) Measurement to focus on the benefits of the new act compared to the old legislation. 
4) The measurement for this piece of legislation will commence only in 2008 in order to provide an insight into the expected reductions made by the 2006 revision as 
compared to the 1993 regulation. 
(5) The Commission is completing a full review of the IPPC directive and will propose a legislative revision before the end of 2007. Administrative burdens have been taken 
into account as a part of this review and the work of the consultants will therefore primarily focus on identifying and measuring those burdens that exist as a result of 
Member States' application of the directive. 
(6) Measurements in the public procurement area shall be carried out as an integrated part of the overall intermediate evaluation of these relevant Directives currently 
scheduled to commence in 2008. 

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Area 
Description 

EC legislation 

Reduction measure 

Area 
Description 

EC legislation 
Reduction measure 

Area 
Description 

EC legislation 
Reduction measure 

Area 
Description 
EC legislation 
Reduction measure 

Area 
Description 
EC legislation 

Reduction measure 

Annex III: Items for fast track actions 

Company Law 
Ease  requirements  regarding  written reports  to  the  stockholders  in  case of  merger 
and division 
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  and  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 
Make  the  requirements  voluntary  and  give  stockholders  the  opportunity  to  decide 
whether the document should be drawn up in a national merger or division to align 
with the provision of the tenth directive  

Agriculture 
Ease the obligations for farmers, collectors and/or processors of energy crops that 
have  to  be  complied  with  in  order  for  the  farmers  to  receive  support  for  the 
cultivation of energy crops 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1973/2004 
Reduce the reporting obligation for the operators and make it possible to replace the 
obligatory  lodging  of  a  security  by  the  operators  by  another  system  offering 
equivalent assurance for the good financial control of the system 

Agriculture 
Ease  the  requirements  concerning  the  documentary  proof  to  be  delivered  by 
operators  in  order  to  receive  export  refunds  for  exporting  certain  agricultural 
produce 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 
Raise  threshold.  Article  16(1)  requires  exporters  to  deliver  a  copy  of  a  customs 
document  as  proof  of  importation  in  a  third  country  in  order  to  get  differentiated 
refunds  paid.  Under  certain  conditions  the  paper  copy  may  be  replaced  by  IT 
generated  information.  Article  17  gives  Member  States  the  option  to  waive  the 
requirement of Article 16(1) for refunds up to certain thresholds, depending on the 
destination.  In  that  case  only  a  transport  document  is  required.  To  the  extent 
possible,  an  extension  of  the  waiver  in  order  to  cover  more  situations  will  be 
considered 

Statistics 
Ease certain statistical obligations on farmers 
Council Directives 93/23/EEC; 93/24/EEC and 93/25/EEC 
Reduce  frequency  of  certain  agricultural  statistics  to  once  a  year  by  merging  and 
simplifying  the  3  Directives.  More  specifically  frequencies  will  be  reduced  for 
surveys  in  Member  States  with  pig  populations  smaller  than  3  million  head  and 
cattle population smaller than 1.5 million heads. Furthermore, Member States will 
be allowed to use sources other than surveys (e.g. the system for the identification 
and registration of bovine animals) to make the required estimates, thus easing the 
response burden on farmers 

Statistics 
Ease certain statistical obligations regarding the information society 
Implementing  regulation  applying  (EC)  No  808/2004  of  the  European  Parliament 
and  of  the  Council  of  21  April  2004  concerning  Community  statistics  on  the 
information society 
Simplify  the  ordinary  and  sector  questionnaire  in  the  annual  Commission 
Regulation  that  implements  regulation  808/2004,  thus  easing  the  administrative 
burdens  for  respondents.  The  proposal  aims  at  reducing  the  volume  of  statistical 
questions posed to businesses in the information society 

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20 

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Area 
Description 
EC legislation 

Reduction measure 

Area 
Description 
EC legislation 

Reduction measure 

Area 
Description 
EC legislation 

Reduction measure 

Area 
Description 
EC legislation 
Reduction measure 

Transport 
Ease certain obligations to provide transport statistics 
EEC  Council:  Regulation  No  11  concerning  the  abolition  of  discrimination  in 
transport  rates  and  conditions,  in  implementation  of  Article  79(3)  of  the  Treaty 
establishing the European Economic Community 
Remove  the  obligation  to  provide  information  on  tariffs,  agreements,  price  deals 
and  transport.  The  proposal  will  remove  outdated  requirements  (from  1960)  for 
documentation  on  a  series  of  issues  when  transporting  goods  across  national 
borders within the EU 

Transport 
Ease information obligations in the transport sector 
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 
Introduce  electronic  register  to  enhance  exchange  of  data  and  allow  targeted 
checks, thereby reducing administrative burdens on businesses 

Transport 
Ease information obligations in the maritime sector 
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 
Simplify the administrative procedures both for public authorities (EU or national) 
and for private bodies 

Food hygiene 
Exempt small businesses from certain HACCP requirements 
Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 
Exempt  mall  retailers  (butchers,  bakers  etc.)  from  certain  HACCP  (Hazard 
Analysis and Critical Control Point) requirements, thereby not imposing the same 
burdens on small butchers, bakers, etc. as on large supermarkets 

Area 
Description 
EC legislation 
Reduction measure 

Food hygiene 
Simplify administrative requirements for small fishing vessels 
Regulation (EC) No 853/2004 
Remove unnecessary requirements for small fishing vessels  

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