Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions - Third strategic review of Better Regulation in the European Union {COM(2009) 16 final} {COM(2009) 17 final} {SEC(2009) 55}
Date: 2009-01-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: activity report, administrative formalities, application of EU law, impact study, operation of the Institutions, simplification of formalities

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 28.1.2009 
COM(2009) 15 final 

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

Third strategic review of Better Regulation 
in the European Union 

{COM(2009) 16 final} 
{COM(2009) 17 final} 
{SEC(2009) 55} 

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   EN 

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

Third strategic review of Better Regulation 
in the European Union 

I. 

INTRODUCTION  

Over the last four years, this Commission has made significant progress in implementing its 
better  regulation  agenda.  It  is  simplifying  legislation  that  is  already  on  the  books  to  ensure 
that it is up to date and more accessible. It is cutting red-tape and implementing a programme 
focused on reducing administrative burdens for businesses. To ensure that new legislation and 
policies  are  of  the  highest  quality  possible,  it  has  rolled  out  a  wide-ranging  and  ambitious 
impact  assessment  system.  And  together  with  the  Member  States,  it  is  developing  more 
efficient and effective approaches to ensuring that Community law is correctly applied.  

Regulation  is  necessary  and  beneficial  for  many  reasons:  to  ensure  that  markets  function 
properly; to create a level playing-field for companies and financial institutions competing in 
the single market; to protect workers and consumers, health and the environment. At the same 
time regulation brings costs – for companies, public authorities and citizens – and these must 
be kept to a minimum. In driving forward the better regulation agenda, the Commission's aim 
has  been  to  ensure  that  the  regulatory  framework  helps  to  stimulate  entrepreneurship  and 
innovation, allows businesses to compete more effectively and to exploit fully the potential of 
the internal market. In doing so, the Better Regulation agenda contributes to growth and job 
creation  while  maintaining  high  standards  of  social,  environmental,  health  and  consumer 
protection.  The  European  Economic  Recovery  plan  stressed  that  in  the  current  context  of 
economic and financial difficulties, with growing pressure on businesses and on households, 
the quality of the regulatory environment is more important than ever before1.  

The  last  four  years  have  seen  a  step  change  in  how  the  Commission  implements  the  better 
regulation  agenda.  This  puts  the  Union  in  a  good  position  to  face  future  challenges. 
Experience has shown that better regulation is most successful if all European institutions and 
Member States share responsibility and work together. This experience is an invaluable asset 
on  the  international  stage.  The  G20  summit  in  November  2008  highlighted  that  certain 
regulatory issues can only be addressed with our international partners, and it has shown the 
growing role the EU can play when it acts together.  

This  Communication  reviews  where  progress  has  been  made  and  highlights  areas  where 
further  efforts  are  necessary.  It  is  an  input  to  the  European  Council's  stock-taking  on  better 
regulation in March 2009 under the Czech Presidency. 

II. 

IMPROVING EXISTING LEGISLATION 

Since 2005, this Commission has undertaken undoubtedly the most ambitious and determined 
initiative  ever  to  update,  modernise  and  simplify  the  body  of  Community  legislation  (the 
'acquis'). A range of activities – the Simplification Rolling Programme, the screening of the 
acquis  for  simplification  potential,  codification  activities,  systematic  availability  of 

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COM(2008) 800. 

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consolidated  versions  of  legal  texts,  and  the  programme  for  the  reduction  of  administrative 
burdens – are bringing tangible benefits for businesses, citizens and public authorities.  

1. 

Legislation is now simpler, clearer and entails less red-tape 

During  this  Commission,  simplification  has  developed  from  being  a  rather  limited  set  of 
largely independent simplification actions into an inherent part of any policy revision, across 
all  policy  areas.  In  October  2005,  the  Commission  drew  up  a  “simplification  rolling 
programme” of 100 initiatives for the period to 2008. It has updated the programme each year 
with  new  initiatives,  and  progressively  extended  it  to  all  policy  areas.  Suggestions  from 
citizens,  stakeholders  and  Member  States  have  been  an  important  part  of  this  process.  The 
programme  now  consists  of  185  initiatives  and,  although  initial  progress  was  slow,  the 
Commission has now tabled proposals to simplify 132 of them2. 75 of these proposals have 
been adopted, and a further 50 are pending before the Council and Parliament. 

As well as simplifying, the Commission has been codifying its legislation, bringing the basic 
law  and  subsequent  amendments  into  one  text.  This  has  made  laws  clearer  and  reduced  the 
volume of legislation. In 2008, the Commission finalised the codification of 229 acts out of a 
total of 436. 142 acts were adopted and published in the Official Journal. By simplifying and 
codifying  legislation,  this  Commission  has  taken  action  which  will  reduce  the  acquis  by 
almost 10% - about 1,300 legal acts and 7,800 pages of the Official Journal. 

The  Commission  has  also  carried  out  an  annual  exercise  since  2005  to  withdraw  proposals 
which are no longer relevant. A total of 108 proposals have been withdrawn, including 30 in 
2008. 

The Commission is moving towards a more integrated approach to simplification where the 
aim is to examine the entire body of legislation that affects a policy area to identify overlaps, 
gaps, inconsistencies, obsolete measures, and potential for reducing regulatory burdens. This 
process  began  with  the  Second  Strategic  Review  of  Better  Regulation  in  which  the 
Commission made a commitment to complete a comprehensive screening of the acquis by the 
end of its mandate. This work prepares the ground for simplification activities beyond 2009 
and  has  identified  some  81  actions  that  the  next  Commission  could  incorporate  in  future 
simplification activities3.  

Results 

These initiatives make legislation clearer and more accessible, bringing tangible benefits for 
companies and citizens. For example:  

Consumers  will  be  able  to  shop  more  easily  in  the  EU,  notably  on  the  internet,  when  the 
Directive on Consumer Rights is adopted. This Directive recasts four existing Directives into 
one set of fully harmonised rules.  

Consumers  will  also  benefit  from  the  revision  of  the  EU  framework  for  investment  funds 
which will replace 10 existing directives with a single text, providing access to professionally 
managed investments on affordable terms4.  

Businesses providing services throughout the EU will face much simplified rules thanks to the 
new “VAT package”.  

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7 of these proposals were reviews which concluded that there was no need for legislative action, or were 
merged with other initiatives. 
Commission Working Document Third Progress Report on the strategy for simplifying the regulatory 
environment COM(2009) 17. 
These are known as UCITS funds – Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities. 

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Small  businesses  will  benefit  from  the  new  General  Block  Exemption  Regulation  which 
increases the possibilities for Member States to provide state aid to small businesses in areas 
such as training, innovation, and energy efficiency. It also consolidates 5 separate regulations 
into one text. 

Modernisation and simplification of air transport rules, combining 3 existing regulations into 
one,  will  contribute  to  greater  consumer  choice,  lower  fares  and  more  competition.  Stricter 
requirements  and  better  supervision  of  start-up  airlines  will  reduce  bankruptcy  risk  and 
negative consequences for consumers.  

Farmers will save costs as a result of a further simplification of the single payment scheme 
following the adoption of the Health Check of the Common Agricultural Policy.5  

2. 

The administrative burden for businesses is being reduced6  

While  simplification  and  codification  provide  concrete  benefits  for  businesses  and  citizens, 
the Commission decided that further targeted action was also required to remove unnecessary 
administrative  burdens  for  businesses.  In  2007  it  identified  42  pieces  of  legislation  in  13 
priority areas which represent an estimated €115  – 130 billion of administrative costs. On this 
basis it has put in place a programme to reduce administrative burdens by 25% by 2012, the 
target endorsed by the European Council in March 2007. The Commission is on track to meet 
the target through various steps.  

By  December  2008  the  Commission  had  already  presented  a  number  of  measures  that  will 
bring about significant reductions in administrative burdens for businesses7. They include the 
modernisation of  EU customs legislation and the creation of a paperless environment which 
should generate benefits for traders estimated at €2.5 billion per year. In the area of statistics, 
the  reduction  proposals  concerning  intra-Community  trade  in  goods  adopted  since  2004  or 
pending before the legislators will enable Member States to exempt about 370,000 companies 
from reporting obligations, This represents a potential reduction of the surveyed population of 
enterprises of roughly 52% over six years (from 2004 to 2010) or more than €100 million of 
savings  per  year  until  2010  and  more  than  €200  million  of  savings  per  year  from  2010 
onwards, in particular for SMEs.  

As a next step, the Commission is identifying the specific reductions which can be made in 
each  of  the  priority  areas.  This  exercise  is  well  advanced  for  two  key  priority  areas.  In  the 
case of Company Law, the Commission plans to propose to allow Member States to exclude 
micro-enterprises  from  the  scope  of  EU  accounting  directives.  The  "Think  Small  First 
Principle" is being applied across the board to these directives to tailor the regime to the needs 
of  SMEs.  These  revisions  could  bring  total  savings  to  around    €8  billion.  The  Commission 
will propose an ambitious revision of the VAT Directive to remove the barriers to electronic 
invoicing  and  to  modernise  invoicing  rules.  The  maximum  mid-term  reduction  potential  of 
removing the VAT obstacles to e-invoicing was estimated at up to €18 billion if all invoices 
were sent electronically.  

So far, reduction measures presented or foreseen represent savings in excess of €30 billion. 

This  reduction  programme  is  based  on  an  extensive  exercise  to  map  and  assess  the 
administrative burdens produced by EU legislation for the 27 Member States and 13 priority 

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Additional  information  on  simplification  initiatives  in  the  agricultural  sector  will  be  presented  in  a 
Commission Progress Report in Spring 2009.  
Commission Working Document on Reducing Administrative Burdens in the EU COM(2009) 16. 
Some  of  these  proposals  are  "Fast  Track  Actions"  which  Council  and  Parliament  have  been  slow  to 
adopt (3 of 6 proposals presented in 2007, and only 1 of 7 in the 2008 package). 

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areas. This has put the EU at the forefront of efforts to reduce the red tape that results from 
so-called  "information  obligations".  It  has  provided  a  much  better  understanding  of  how 
Member States transpose and implement EU legislation, and what this means for businesses 
in  terms  of  information  obligations8  The  exercise  has  increased  the  awareness  of  public 
authorities  of  administrative  burdens,  and  provided  them  with  an  opportunity  to  revisit  the 
effectiveness and efficiency of the rules in place. 

The  exercise  is  benefiting  extensively  from  external  expertise  and  stakeholder  input.  The 
positive  opinions  of  the  High  Level  Group  of  Independent  Stakeholders  on  Administrative 
Burdens on the exemption of micro-enterprises and on VAT reform on e-invoicing rules are 
good examples of this. The Group is also driving the process forward in other priority areas. 
More than 350 submissions have been made through the online and the off-line consultations. 
Finally, Member  States  have  agreed  to make comparable efforts  and by the end  of  2008  21 
had set national reduction targets, up from 7 at the end of 2006. Some Member States have 
already  made  major  changes  to  the  transposition  of  EC  legislation.  The  Commission  is 
working closely with national authorities which transpose EU legislation to disseminate good 
practices  that  allow  administrative  burdens  to  be  reduced  quickly.  It  invites  the  Member 
States  to  take  full  advantage  of  the  starter  kit  it  has  developed  for  future  measurement  and 
reduction  work  and  to  promote  further  data  harmonisation  and  comparability.  The 
Commission also invites them to agree on a set of principles for monitoring the progress in 
reducing administrative burdens at EU and Member State levels. 

3. Next steps 

Improving  the  quality  of  existing  legislation  and  suppressing  unnecessary  administrative 
burdens  are  all  the  more  important  for  business  in  the  current  difficult  economic 
circumstances. The Union must, therefore, implement these programmes vigorously. 

–  The Commission, on the basis of the EU baseline measurement, will identify the 
specific  reductions  to  be  made  in  each  of  the  13  priority  areas  and  will  present 
proposals stemming from the present action programme to reduce administrative 
burdens  in  EU  legislation.  Every  effort  will  be  made  to  adopt  these  proposals 
before the end of this Commission mandate.  

–  The  Commission  will  present  33  new  simplification  initiatives  in  2009.  These 
measures  will  aim,  for  example,  at  combating  late  payment  in  commercial 
transactions,  exempting  micro-entities  from  the  accounting  requirements  or 
ensuring  recognition  and  enforcement  of  judgements  in  civil  and  commercial 
matters.  

–  On the basis of the screening of the acquis, the Commission has identified 81 new 
actions  that  the  next  Commission  may  consider  for  a  future  simplification 
programme. 

–  Council and Parliament are invited to adopt as rapidly as possible the 50 pending 

simplification initiatives, and all pending administrative reduction proposals. 

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The  exercise  identified  356  EU  obligations  and  over  [9500]  national  obligations  in  the  EU-27.  It 
involved  around  3000  interviews  with  businesses,  and  more  than  50  workshops  with  local  business 
associations and national ministries. 

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–  Taking into account the inputs received from the consultation, the Commission is 
proposing to extend the action programme to include a further 30 legislative acts.  

–  The  Commission  will  continue  to  work  closely  with  national  authorities 
responsible  for  transposing  EU  legislation  to  disseminate  good  practices  for 
reducing administrative burdens quickly. 

–  Member States which had not set a national reduction target by 31 December are 
invited to do so before the 2009 Spring European Council. All Member States are 
invited  to  take  concrete  measures  at  their  level,  and  to  report  on  these  in  the 
annual national progress reports on the Lisbon Strategy.  

III. 

1. 

IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF NEW INITIATIVES 

A broad and ambitious approach 

Improving the quality of new initiatives is an essential part of the better regulation agenda. In 
line with international best practice, the Commission believes that the most effective way of 
creating a better regulation culture is by making those people who are responsible for policy 
development also responsible for assessing the impacts of what they propose. This has been a 
fundamental aspect of the impact assessment system which the Commission has been rolling 
out  since  2002,  and  which  it  believes  is  changing  fundamentally  the  working  culture  of  the 
institution. Since 2002, the Commission has completed over 400 impact assessments. In 2008 
alone,  135  were  carried  out.  The  system  has  a  number  of  characteristics  which  are  worth 
highlighting. 

First,  the  Commission  is  convinced  that  an  integrated  approach  to  impact  assessment  is  the 
most appropriate way of ensuring the necessity of the measures it proposes and of producing 
high  quality  polices.  Impact  assessments  therefore  analyse  both  benefits  and  costs,  and 
address in a balanced way all the significant economic, social and environmental impacts of a 
possible initiatives. This approach ensures that all relevant expertise within the Commission is 
used,  together  with  inputs  from  stakeholders  and  in  doing  so  enhances  the  coherence  of 
initiatives across policy areas. 

Second,  the  Commission  has  extended  the  requirement  to  do  impact  assessments  beyond 
initiatives in the annual Legislative and Work Programme, to cover all initiatives which are 
likely to have a significant impact. This includes comitology items with significant impacts.  

Third, to help to ensure that impact assessments conform to procedures and quality standards, 
the Commission has put in place a demanding, central quality control function in the form of 
the Impact Assessment Board (IAB) which is independent of the policy making departments. 
The IAB has examined and issued opinions on all the Commission's impact assessments since 
it was created at the end of 2006. It has improved policy quality by requesting resubmissions 
of  impact  assessments  in  32  %  of  cases  in  2008,  and  through  the  recommendations  it  has 
made  to  the  Commission  to  improve  the  quality  of  impact  assessments.  In  2008,  it  has  put 
increasing  emphasis  on  the  need  to  quantify  impacts  more  systematically  and  to  address 
clearly  the  issue  of  administrative  burdens.  It  has  also  supported  Commission  services  in 
producing their impact assessments in particular concerning the methodology they use. 

Finally,  the  Commission  has  created  a  system  which  is  transparent  and  accountable.  It  is 
promoting greater transparency in the process of  policy  making  and a fuller involvement of 

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stakeholders. All impact assessments and all opinions of the IAB are publicly available once 
the Commission has adopted the relevant proposal9.  

2. 

Impact assessments will be improved further 

The  Commission  has  put  in  place  an  impact  assessment  system  which  in  terms  of 
completeness  and  transparency  is  generally  considered  to  be  of  very  high  standard  at 
European and international level. There is scope, nonetheless, for further improvements in the 
quality of the impact assessments themselves. The IAB recommended in its 2008 report that 
quality  control  be  reinforced  before  the  impact  assessments  are  submitted  to  the  IAB.  The 
Commission will take a number of measures to do this. In particular it will strengthen the role 
of the impact assessment unit in each Directorate General, and the role of Impact Assessment 
Steering  Groups  to  ensure  that  all  relevant  expertise  within  the  Commission  is  taken  into 
account. It will increase "ownership" of impact assessments through the definitive approval of  
Directors General.  

The  Commission  has  identified  a  number  of  other  improvements  on  the  basis  of  the  IAB's 
experience, inputs from the High Level Group of National Experts on Better Regulation, and 
the public consultation on the Impact Assessment Guidelines in mid-2008. Many of these are 
reflected in the revised Guidelines which have been in force since the beginning of 2009. The 
impact assessment system will have:  

•  Stronger  focus:  the  Commission  will  focus  impact  assessments  more  on  legislative 
proposals,  both  in  and  beyond  the  Legislative  and  Work  Programme,  including  on 
comitology items with significant impacts.  

•  Better stakeholder consultation: the Commission's Minimum Standards for Consultation 
must be fully implemented. For complex or sensitive proposals, Commission departments 
are encouraged to go beyond the 8 week minimum consultation period; further efforts will 
be made to ensure that all stakeholders are aware and able to contribute to consultations; 
clearer  feedback  should  be  provided  in  impact  assessments  on  what  information  was 
requested from stakeholders, what was received, and how it was used.  

•  More  rigorous  analysis  of  subsidiarity:  The  Guidelines  now  provide  a  list  of  explicit 
questions  that  services  should  address  in  the  problem  analysis,  with  further  guidance  for 
the analysis of proportionality and EU-value added for all policy options that are presented. 

•  More  thorough  assessment  of  specific  impacts:  Within  the  integrated  approach  to 
benefits and costs in the economic, social and environmental domains, there is additional 
guidance on specific aspects of these impacts. This is the case for impacts on SMEs, which 
should  be  assessed  in  line  with  the  Small  Business  Act  (through  a  so-called  'SME  test'); 
issues related to fundamental rights; and impacts on consumers and public health. Impacts 
on regional and local levels will be taken into account.  

•  More quantitative evidence and analysis: The Guidelines provide strengthened guidance 
on  quantification  and  references  to  best  practices  for  assessing  different  types  of 
compliance costs.  

•  Improved  assessment  of  administrative  burdens:  The  Commission  has  improved  the 

guidance for estimating administrative burdens in particular for businesses.  

•  More  transparent  presentation  of  results:  executive  summaries  will  present  a  clear 
overview  of  any  quantified  benefits  and  costs  of  the  various  options,  including 

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administrative  costs  for  businesses  and  citizens,  other  compliance  costs,  and  costs  for 
administrations. 

3. 

Next steps 

–  In 2009 the Commission expects to carry out more than 100 impact assessments, 

and will do so in line with the revised impact assessment Guidelines. 

–  The Commission will further reinforce guidance on administrative burdens in the 
impact  assessment  guidelines  by  putting  in  place  early  in  2009  new  IT  tools 
accessible to all its services. 

–  The  Commission  will  continue  to  improve  the  quality  of  its  impact  assessments 
through  reinforced  quality  control  by  the  responsible  services  as  well  as  by  the 
Impact Assessment Board. 

IV. 

INSTITUTIONS 

ALL 
REGULATION 

SHARE  RESPONSIBILITY  FOR  BETTER 

1. 

Better regulation at all levels in the EU 

For  the  Better  Regulation  exercise  to  be  successful  it  is  essential  that  each  of  the  European 
Institutions assumes its responsibility. EU rules are proposed by the Commission, are adopted 
by the European Parliament and Council, and national governments and parliaments transpose 
them  into  national  laws.  They  are  often  complemented  with  regional  and  local  rules.  All  of 
these actors have a role to play in improving the regulatory framework.  

The  process  of  adopting  and  implementing  EU  legislation  takes  time.  The  Commission's 
simplification and administrative burden reduction programmes both contain valuable lessons 
on the improvements that can be made to bring concrete benefits for businesses and citizens. 
Progress must, however, be made in speeding up adoption in Council and Parliament of the 
Commission's  concrete  proposals,  and  ensure  that  those  elements  which  simplify  legislation 
and reduce administrative burdens are maintained.  

A priority for the three institutions in 2009 must be to complete the review of the Common 
Approach to Impact Assessment. The Commission is convinced that this Common Approach 
provides  a  sound  basis  for  each  of  the  institutions  to  develop  their  approaches  to  impact 
assessments. Efforts should focus on identifying concrete ways of improving implementation. 
The Commission is prepared to support the other Institutions in developing their capacity to 
deal with the Commission's impact assessments and to carry out their own additional analysis 
on  substantive  amendments  they  make.  As  stated  in  the  Second  Strategic  Review  of  Better 
Regulation, the Commission will also respond constructively and on a case by case basis to 
requests by Council and Parliament to expand on aspects of its original impact assessments. 

2. 

Applying Community law in the Member States  

In 2007 the Commission put forward a strategy for improving the application of Community 
law10.  It  has  started-up,  in  close  co-operation  with  the  15  volunteer  Member  States,  the  EU 
Pilot project to accelerate and improve problem-solving for citizens. It now takes decisions on 
infringements more frequently. It is well-advanced in the development of more priority-based 
case  handling  as  reflected  in  the  Annual  Report  on  monitoring  of  the  application  of 
Community  law  alongside  other  initiatives  adopted  or  being  developed  on  increased 

10 

'A Europe of Results', COM(2007) 502.  

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transparency  and  dialogue11.  Experience  of  the  application  of  the  law  can  lead  to  the 
correction  or  development  of  legislation  in  order  to  better  achieve  Community  objectives. 
Further measures will be taken in 2009 to implement and reinforce this strategy.  

3. 

Next Steps 

–  Parliament  and  Council  are  invited  to  adopt  pending  administrative  burden  and 
simplification  proposals  as  quickly  as  possible  as  foreseen  in  the  2003  Inter-
Institutional Agreement on Better Lawmaking. 

–  Parliament,  Council  and  the  Commission  will  conclude  the  joint  review  of  the 

“Common Approach to Impact Assessment”  

–  The  Commission  will  ensure  improved  application  of  Community  law  by 
introducing  preventive  measures,  including  increased  focus  on  implementation 
and enforcement issues in impact assessments, improved implementation planning 
on  new  legislation,  creating  implementation  networks  and  assisting  Member 
States with correlation tables.  

–  In line with the Small Business Act for Europe, the Commission will use common 
commencement  dates  where  practicable  for  future  Regulations  and  Decisions 
affecting  business12.  This  would  allow  SMEs  to  prepare  better  and  adapt  to 
legislative changes. 

–  The  Commission  will  work  closely  with  national  authorities  to  improve  clarity 
and  coherence  of  draft  national  legislation  in  the  context  of  the  notification 
procedure based on Directive 98/34/EC13. 

V. 

SHAPING GLOBAL REGULATION 

The  Commission  has  continued  its  regulatory  dialogues  with  major  trading  partners.  In  the 
case of the US, it produced a joint paper with the US Office of Management and Budget in the 
framework  of  the  Transatlantic  Economic  Council  to  compare  the  respective  systems  for 
assessing  impacts  on  international  trade  and  investment  in  the  EU  and  the  US14.  The 
recommendations  made  in  the  paper  have  been  integrated  in  the  Commission's  impact 
assessment guidelines. The US authorities have agreed to do the same in their guidelines for 
regulatory impact assessment. 

The  Commission  will  continue  its  regulatory  cooperation  with  its  trading  partners,  both  in 
multilateral  organisations,  such  as  the  UN,  the  OECD  and  the  World  Bank,  and  in  bilateral 
dialogues  to  reduce  barriers  to  trade  and  investment  while  strengthening  environmental  and 
societal  protection.  The  G20  Summit  in  November  2008  demonstrated  the  importance  of 
international  cooperation  in  the  current  economic  and  financial  context  and  the  positive 
impact which the Union can have when it acts together. In December 2008, the Commission 

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25th Report on the Application of Community Law - COM(2008) 777. 
Under a system of common commencement dates, certain legislation is typically introduced on a small 
number of fixed dates during the year. 
This  Directive  obliges  Member  States  to  notify  all  draft  technical  regulations  for  products  and 
information society services to the Commission before they are adopted into national law. This helps to 
reduce the risk of creating unjustified barriers among Member States. 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/better_regulation/impact_en.htm 

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set  out  a  strategic  framework  for  international  regulatory  cooperation  and  identified  future 
priority actions15. 

VI. 

CONCLUSION 

The  European  Union  and  its  Member  States  face  important  challenges  in  addressing  the 
current  economic  and  financial  situation.  Better  regulation  must  remain  an  essential  part  of 
our  response  –  regulating  where  there  is  a  need  to  do  so,  in  a  manner  which  is  as 
straightforward  as  possible,  based  on  dialogue  with  stakeholders,  and  in  a  way  that  keeps 
burdens  on  businesses  and  citizens  to  the  minimum  necessary.  The  experience  with  better 
regulation over the last four years provides a good basis on which to confront new challenges. 
The Commission has identified next steps which require continued efforts and the on-going 
political  support  of  the  other  European  institutions,  the  Member  States,  local  and  regional 
authorities, and stakeholders. 

15 

COM(2008) 874. 

EN 

10 

   EN