COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Review of the Commission Consultation Policy Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions EU Regulatory Fitness
Date: 2012-12-12
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: administrative formalities, administrative reform, application of EU law, drafting of EU law

EUROPEAN 
COMMISSION 

Strasbourg, 12.12.2012  
SWD(2012) 422 final 

COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Review of the Commission Consultation Policy 

Accompanying the document 

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 

EU Regulatory Fitness 

{COM(2012) 746 final} 
{SWD(2012) 423 final}

EN 

   EN 

 
 
 
 
 
  
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. 

2. 

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

Current public consultation practices........................................................................... 4 

2.1. 

Consultation Frameworks ............................................................................................ 4 

2.1.1.  Specific consultation frameworks ................................................................................ 4 

2.1.2.  Open and targeted consultations .................................................................................. 5 

2.2. 

2.3. 

2.4. 

3. 

3.1. 

3.2. 

Consultation Tools ....................................................................................................... 5 

Consultation principles and standards.......................................................................... 7 

Consultation management............................................................................................ 9 

Review of the Commission public consultation policy................................................ 9 

Process.......................................................................................................................... 9 

Issues and findings ..................................................................................................... 10 

3.2.1.  Public consultation design.......................................................................................... 11 

3.2.2.  Openness and reach.................................................................................................... 12 

3.2.3.  Use of results.............................................................................................................. 15 

4. 

Review’s conclusion and ways forward..................................................................... 17 

EN 

2 

   EN 

 
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 

Review of the Commission Consultation Policy 

Accompanying the document 

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the 
European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions 

EU Regulatory Fitness 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The European Commission interacts with citizens in a variety of ways: 

•  Via the institutionalised mechanisms of citizens’ representation through which 

the exercise of power at the EU level is organised. 

•  By  collecting  expertise  from  specialists  and  evidence  from  stakeholders  to 
provide the scientific and practical knowledge required at different stages of the 
policy cycle1. 

•  Via  the  dialogue  tools  through  which  citizens  and  stakeholders  voice  their 

opinions on policy being planned, approved, transposed or evaluated. 

The latter activities constitute what is commonly referred to as ‘public consultations’ 
and are conducted in fulfilment of Treaty obligations. 

General Framework for Public Consultations 

According  to  Article  11  of  the  Treaty  on  European  Union,  ‘the  European 
Commission  shall  carry  out  broad  consultations  with  parties  concerned  in  order  to 
ensure that the Union’s actions are coherent and transparent’. 

Protocol no 2 on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality 
annexed  to  the  Treaties  stipulates  that  ‘before  proposing  legislative  acts,  the 
Commission shall consult widely’. 

Public consultations are a key tool for evidence-based policy-making throughout all 
of  its  stages:  from  when  a  policy  is  designed  to  when  it  is  being  approved, 
transposed, implemented, monitored and evaluated. 

1 

See the Guidelines on the collection and use of expertise by the Commission: COM(2002) 713. See also 
the public register of Commission expert groups: 
http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm?do=faq.faq&aide=2. 

EN 

3 

   EN 

 
                                                 
 
Accordingly,  enhancing  public  consultations  has  been  at  the  centre  of  the 
Commission’s efforts to improve European governance and ensure better and smarter 
regulation.  In  2002,  the  Commission  set  out  principles  and  minimum  standards  for 
consulting  external  parties2.  The  application  of  the  standards  was  examined  in  the 
March  2007  follow-up  to  the  European  Transparency  Initiative3.  The  Commission 
announced in its 2010 Communication on Smart Regulation in the EU4 its intention 
to  further  strengthen  the  voice  of  citizens  and  stakeholders  by  extending  the 
minimum  consultation  period  from  8  to  12  weeks  as  of  2012  and  by  carrying  out 
a review of its consultation policy. 

This  document  outlines  the  process  and  findings  of  this  review  after  briefly 
describing current consultation practices. It concludes by identifying a set of possible 
measures  to  further  improve  the  Commission’s  consultation  practices.  The  review 
focuses on consultation processes that take place during the phase of policy-design –, 
as input to Commission decisions. 

2. 

CURRENT PUBLIC CONSULTATION PRACTICES 

2.1. 

Consultation Frameworks 

The interaction between the Commission and interested parties can take many forms, 
and the methods for consultation and dialogue are adapted to different policy fields. 
In certain fields, specific consultation frameworks apply and supplement (or replace) 
less formalised processes.  

2.1.1. 

Specific consultation frameworks 

Specific  consultation  frameworks  can  stem  from  the  Treaties,  other  Community 
legislation, or be required under international agreements: 

•  Specific  provisions  exist  for  consulting  the  social  partners5.  According  to 
Articles  153  –  155  of  the  Treaty  on  the  functioning  of  the  EU  (TFEU),  the 
Commission has the duty to consult European social partners (management and 
labour) prior to presenting any legislative proposal in the social field. The Treaty 
sets up a two-stage procedure whereby social partners are first consulted on the 
general direction of an initiative and later on its actual scope and content. 

•  Forms  of  institutionalised  dialogue  are  most  notably  represented  by  the  social 
dialogue committees6 which are part of the network of European social partners 
and  are  consulted  on  policies  that  have  a  social  impact  on  a  specific  sector.  In 

2 

3 
4 
5 

6 

COM(2002) 704, ‘General principles and minimum standards for consultation of interested parties by 
the Commission’. 
COM(2007) 127, ‘Follow-up to the Green Paper "European Transparency Initiative"’. 
COM(2010) 543, ‘Smart Regulation in the European Union’. 
See  http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=329&langId=en 
recognised 
representative  European  social  partners  organisations  and  for  details  on  consultation  of  the  social 
partners and of the social dialogue committees. See also Annex 5.2 of Impact Assessment Guidelines: 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/commission_guidelines/commission_guidelines_en.htm.  
Commission Decision 98/500/EC on the establishment of Sectoral Dialogue Committees promoting the 
dialogue between the social partners at European level. 

list  of  officially 

for 

EN 

4 

   EN 

 
                                                 
addition,  social  partners  are  involved  in  some  advisory  committees  specifically 
created to support the development of policies in particular areas7.  

•  The  provisions  of  UNECE  Aarhus  convention  may  apply8  to  consultations  that 
concern the environment or include an environmental aspect. According to such 
provisions,  the  public  should  be  given  the  opportunity  to  participate  during  the 
preparation,  modification  or  review  of  plans  and  programmes  relating  to  the 
environment at a stage when all options are still open. 

•  During  the  legislative  process,  the  Commission  also  consults  the  European 
Economic  and  Social  Committee  (representing  various  socio-economic 
organisations in Member States) and the Committee of the Regions (made up of 
representatives  of  local  and  regional  authorities),  and  seeks  the  opinions  of 
national parliaments and governments.  

• 

In  the  areas  where  EU  legislators  have  conferred  implementing  powers  on  the 
Commission,  a  specific  framework  applies  when  consulting  with  comitology 
committees. In such cases, prior to implementation, the Commission must consult 
a committee where every EU country is represented on the detailed implementing 
measures  it  proposes.  The  committee  provides  an  opinion  on  the  proposed 
measures  which  is  more  or  less  binding  depending  on  the  particular  procedure 
specified in the underlying legal act. 

2.1.2.  Open and targeted consultations 

Consultations  can  be  targeted  at  a  specific  category  of  stakeholders  (consumers, 
SMEs, regions, social partners, etc.), or open to all interested parties. Targeted and 
open  consultations,  however,  are  not  necessarily  mutually  exclusive  and  individual 
consultation  processes  may  combine  targeted  and  open  phases  depending  on  the 
policy-development stage and specific consultation objectives. 

In practice, a combination of targeted and open consultations is most commonly used 
by the Commission services. The examination of some 260 impact assessments (IAs) 
has  shown  that  open  public  consultations  were  used  in  three  quarters  of  all  cases, 
most often in combination with one or more rounds of targeted consultations. In the 
remaining 25 % of IAs examined, targeted consultation was carried out9. 

2.2. 

Consultation Tools 

The Commission uses a range of consulting instruments which include:  

•  Consultation  documents  adopted  by  the  Commission  (such  as  Green  Papers10, 

White Papers11 and social partners consultation documents);  

7 

8 

9 
10 

For  example, a  tripartite  consultation  in  the  area of occupational safety  and health  is provided by  the 
advisory  committee  on  safety  and  health  at  work,  which  assists  the  Commission  in  the  preparation, 
implementation and evaluation of activities in this field. 
Regulation (EC) No 1367/2006 of the European Parliament and the Council on the application of the 
provisions of the Aarhus convention to Community institutions and bodies. 
See Chapter 3 section 3.2.1. for exact figures. 
Green papers are used at early stages of policy development to stimulate discussion on particular topics. 

EN 

5 

   EN 

 
                                                 
•  Other consultation documents; 

•  Questionnaires with open-ended and/or closed questions12; 

•  Consultation meetings, workshops, hearings; 

• 

Individual interviews; 

•  Surveys (for instance via the Eurobarometer tool13);  

•  Specific networks and platforms like the Enterprise Europe Network14 to consult 
SMEs  through  the  ‘SME  panel’  tool15,16,  the  networks  of  the  Committee  of  the 
Regions17, various fora representing consumers18 and other interest groups19 etc. 
20;  

•  The Commission also frequently calls on external expertise to complement its in-
house expertise, to ensure that EU policies have a sound knowledge base. It uses 
various  ways  to  collect  expertise,  such  as  advisory  bodies/expert  groups, 
workshops, conferences, seminars, etc.  

Figure 1: Main consultation tools and methods used by the Commission 

11 

12 

13 
14 
15 
16 

17 

18 

19  

20 

White papers set out a policy in a detailed and reasoned manner in order to prompt a debate and reach a 
political decision. 
The Commission mainly uses the questionnaires developed under the IPM (Interactive Policy Making) 
initiative. It is a web-based application used to create and conduct surveys and public consultations over 
the web. It generates user-friendly questionnaires, making it easier both for respondents to participate in 
the consultations and for policy-makers to analyse the results.  
http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/index_en.htm. 
http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/index_en.htm. 
http://portal.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/. 
In November 2011, the European Business Test Panel (EBTP) merged with the SME panel. 
For example, specific SME consultation was carried out through the Enterprise Europe Network for the 
impact assessment on the alignment of 10 technical harmonisation directives with the new legislative 
framework for the marketing of products: SEC(2011) 1376. 
Subsidiarity  Monitoring  Network  and  Europe  2020  Monitoring  Platform.  The  consultation 
arrangements  are  defined  in  the  updated  Protocol  on  Cooperation  between  the  Commission  and  the 
Committee  of  the  Regions.  The  networks  are  used  to  consult  regional  and  local  authorities  when 
significant regional and local aspects are at stake. For example, a specific survey on territorial impacts 
was coordinated by the Committee of the Regions for the preparation of the proposal for a programme 
for the environment and climate action (LIFE), see the relevant impact assessment: SEC(2011) 1542.  
For  example  the  European  Consumer  Consultative  Group  and  the  Network  of  European  Consumer 
Centres.   
The EU Health Policy Forum, the Forum for the better functioning of the Food Supply Chain and the 
Advisory Group on the Food Chain and Animal and Plant Health. 
For  example  the  Network  on  free  movement  of  workers  or  the  Network  on  training  and reporting on 
European Social Security. 

EN 

6 

   EN 

 
                                                                                                                                                         
 
2.3. 

Consultation principles and standards 

In 2002, the Commission identified a set of general principles for its relations with 
external parties and a number of minimum standards for consulting them during the 
process  of  policy  design21.  Principles  and  standards  were  devised  to  ensure  that 
Commission  services  would  carry  out  consultation  in  a  transparent  and  coherent 
manner  that  encouraged  the  involvement  of  interested  parties  and  enhanced  the 
Commission’s accountability.  

The  general  principles  identified  for  governing  relations  with  stakeholders  are 
participation, openness, and accountability, effectiveness and coherence. It is in the 
context  of  applying 
the 
organisations engaged in interactions with the European institutions to declare their 
interest and be registered in the register of interest representatives22.  

the  Commission  encouraged 

these  principles 

that 

The minimum consultation standards require that: 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Consultation  documents  are  clear,  concise,  and 
information (minimum standard A);  

include  all  necessary 

All  relevant  parties  have  an  opportunity  to  express  their  opinion  (minimum 
standard B);  

Adequate awareness-raising publicity is ensured and communication channels 
are adapted to meet the needs of all target audiences (minimum standard C);  

Participants are given sufficient time for responses (minimum standard D); 

21 

22 

COM(2002)  704,  General  Principles  and  minimum  standards  for  consultation  of  interested  parties  by 
the Commission. 
Transparency  Register  accessible  at:  http://europa.eu/transparency-register/index_en.htm.  Those 
registered benefit from an automatic alert service for newly published consultations and roadmaps. 

EN 

7 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
• 

Acknowledgement and adequate feedback is provided (minimum standard E). 

With  the  exception  of  the  lengthening  of  the  minimum  period  for  the  reception  of 
responses  under  minimum  standard  D  from  8  to  12  weeks  in  2012,  standards  and 
general principles have remained unchanged. They: 

• 

• 

Do  not  apply  whenever  a  specific  consultation  framework  is  provided  for  by 
the Treaty, other European legislation or an international agreement. 

Apply  mandatorily  to  Green  papers  and  to  all  consultations  carried  out  when 
preparing  a  new  Commission  proposal  which  is  subject  to  an  impact 
assessment. In this regard: 

• 

• 

The  provisions  on  public  consultation  in  the  context  of  impact 
assessments  were  strengthened  as  a result  of  the  2009  review  of  the  IA 
guidelines. Services must now ensure that stakeholders can comment on 
a  clear  problem  definition,  subsidiarity  analysis,  description  of  the 
possible options and their impacts23. 

The number of proposals  subject  to impact  assessment has significantly 
increased over the years. IAs are now carried out for all initiatives likely 
to  have  significant  impacts  —  whether  they  be  Commission  Work 
Programme  items,  proposals  for  legislative  or  spending  activity,  policy-
setting initiatives or implementing measures.  

• 

Are  to  be  applied  where  possible  in  any  other  type  of  consultation  that  the 
Commission services may launch. 

Figure 2: Scope of minimum standards 

23 

See IA guidelines: 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/commission_guidelines/commission_guidelines_en.htm. 

EN 

8 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
 
2.4. 

Consultation management 

The implementation of the Commission’s public-consultation policy is decentralised 
to  individual  services.  Commission  services  choose  consultation  tools  and  methods 
on  the  basis  of  consultation  objectives,  target  groups  and  available  resources.  The 
responsibility  for  defining  the  most  appropriate  consultation  strategy  for  specific 
initiatives lies with the lead service within the Commission. 

This decentralised structure allows the Commission to properly take into account the 
specific  nature  of  different  policy  areas.  It  also  assigns  responsibility  for  key 
decisions concerning consultation strategy to those who prepare the relevant  policy 
initiative and have the best knowledge of the relevant stakeholders. 

Central  support  to  services  is  provided  through  a  dedicated  public  consultation 
intranet website, offering practical guidance, common templates etc. Although there 
is  no  formal  obligation  to  do  so,  the  service  responsible  for  the  consultation 
sometimes  involves  other  services  in  the  preparation  and  management  of  public 
consultations  (notably  by  sharing  draft  public  consultation  documents  with  the 
members of the relevant impact assessment steering group24 for comments).  

3. 

REVIEW OF THE COMMISSION PUBLIC CONSULTATION POLICY 

3.1. 

Process 

The review drew upon the evidence and proposals collected through: 

• 

• 

A  review  of  international  standards  and  best  practice,  notably  the  2012 
OECD ‘Recommendation on Regulatory Policy and Governance’25. 

An open consultation of external stakeholders26 — The public consultation 
on  the  implementation  of  smart  regulation,  which  ran  from  27 June  to 
21 September  2012  in  22  languages,  posed  10  sets  of  questions  on  public-
consultation  policy 
timing,  outreach, 
representativeness, feedback and results). 108 replies were received. A detailed 
overview of them is provided in the summary consultation document27.  

(minimum 

standards, 

scope, 

• 

Inputs from Commission services — Internal discussions involving relevant 
Commission services28 took place to draw upon their practical experience. The 

24 

25 
26 

27 

28 

Impact Assessment Steering Groups (IASG) bring together representatives of all Commission services 
with  an  interest  in  the  development  of  an  initiative.  They  are  fully  involved  in  all  phases  of  impact 
assessment work. 
http://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatorypolicy/49990817.pdf. 
Consultation accessible at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/better_regulation/smart_regulation/consultation_2012/consultation_en.h
tm. 
Summary consultation document accessible at: 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/better_regulation/smart_regulation/consultation_2012/consultation_docs
_en.htm. 
Discussions  at  the  Impact  assessment  working  group  meetings  (IAWG  is  a  network  of  officials  who 
contribute to the Commission’s impact assessment work and its coordination). 

EN 

9 

   EN 

 
                                                 
 
services were asked to provide their views on the minimum standards and on 
the usefulness of stakeholders’ input, as well as to suggest how to exploit the 
full  potential  of  public  consultations  undertaken  for  the  impact  assessment 
process,  how  to  reach  the  right  stakeholders  and  how  to  improve  internal 
support  for  public-consultation  purposes.  A  number  of  services  provided 
additional written comments as a follow-up to the discussions.  

• 

An  internal  examination  of  current  consultation  practices  —  Two  sets  of 
data were analysed: 

• 

• 

their  actual  duration, 

All consultations published on the ‘Your Voice in Europe’ (YViE) portal 
between January 2010 and August 2012, in order to collect information 
translation  availability  and 
tools  used, 
on 
publication  of  individual  replies  and  summary  reports.  A  subset  of  this 
data was used to analyse the clarity of the consultation questions used in 
the IPM questionnaires. 

All  impact  assessments  submitted  to  the  Impact  Assessment  Board 
(IAB)29  between  January  2010  and  August  2012,  in  order  to  assess  the 
consultation methods used. A subset of this data30 was used to analyse in 
more detail which aspects of IA stakeholders are usually consulted upon, 
and how useful their input is for the decision-making process. 

3.2. 

Issues and findings 

The review sought to assess whether, given the existing set of general principles for 
relations  with  stakeholders,  current  consultation  standards  and  practices  ensure  that 
the right people are asked the right questions about the right initiatives, so as to feed 
into Commission decision-making in an efficient manner. 

To  address  this  general  question,  a  sub-set  of  issues  pertaining  to  (i)  the  design  of 
individual public consultations, (ii) their openness and reach, and (iii) the use of their 
results, were identified and analysed. The main findings are discussed below on an 
item-by-item basis. Since these issues are often inter-related, improvement measures 
are often of a cross-cutting nature. They are discussed in section 4. 

3.2.1.  Public consultation design 

Consultation  with  interested  parties  increases  the  level  of  transparency  and  helps 
improve  the  quality  of  proposals  if  it  taps  into  expertise  and  manages  to  balance 
opposing  views  and  interests  when  identifying  policy  options  and  assessing  their 
expected impacts. 

29 
30 

The IAB provides independent quality control and quality support for Commission IAs. 
To draw 20 IAs for detailed assessment, stratified sampling from a population of 216 IAs examined by 
the IAB between January 2010 and mid-July 2012 (43 IAs for the sectoral spending programmes in the 
context of the multiannual financial framework for EU spending (2014-2020) were not included in the 
overall  sample)  was  used.  IAs  were  divided  into  4  sub-groups  reflecting  the  four  areas  of  IA 
(microeconomic,  macroeconomic,  environmental  and  social).  Each  group  was  then  sampled  as  an 
independent  sub-population,  out  of  which  individual  elements  were  randomly  selected.  Proportionate 
allocation was used — from each of the four sub-groups, a number of IAs that was proportional to the 
share of the sub-group in the total population was drawn. 

EN 

10 

   EN 

 
                                                 
To  reap  these  benefits,  the  Commission  consults  widely:  some  330  open  public 
consultations  took  place  between  January  2010  and  August  201231;  all  impact 
assessments scrutinised by the IAB between January 2010 and mid-July 2012 were 
based on consultations (open (190), targeted or a combination of both). 

Respondents to the public consultation generally considered that the Commission is 
consulting on the right type of initiative, agreeing with its approach to consult on all 
initiatives with significant impacts. They also acknowledged that existing minimum 
consultation standards are appropriate and generally respected in practice.  

Some concerns were nevertheless expressed with respect to the scope of individual 
consultations.  Several  respondents  indicated  that,  in  some  cases,  consultations 
appeared to be unbalanced relative to different aspects of impact assessment. Some 
stakeholders asked for the Commission to consult on draft IAs. 

The  review  of  internal  practices  and  the  input  from  services  indicate  that  the  main 
challenge  for  consulting  systematically  and  widely  on  all  key  aspects  of  an impact 
assessment  is  due  to  the  difficulty  of  fitting  the  timing  of  consultations  into  the 
(political)  calendar  for  policy-making.  Services  are  also  wary  of  the  burden  that 
several consultation rounds may impose. 

In  practice,  services  often  tackle  these  challenges  by  using  a  mix  of  targeted  and 
open  consultations.  Table  3  shows  that  for  most  initiatives  subject  to  an  impact 
assessment,  an  open  public  consultation  was  combined  with  additional  targeted 
consultations.  An  internal  assessment  of  a  set  of  IAs  confirmed  that  open  public 
consultations are often held relatively early in the process, when there is no definitive 
view  on  final  policy  options  and  their  impacts.  Stakeholders  are  then  consulted  at 
later  stages  in  a  more  targeted  fashion  (via  stakeholder  meetings,  public  hearings, 
workshops,  conferences,  surveys,  advisory  committees,  expert  groups  or 
consultations  of  specific  groups  such  as  social  partners,  SMEs,  consumers,  etc.). 
Respondents  to  the  public  consultation  stressed  the  importance  of  supplementing 
open  public  consultations  with  more  targeted  ones  and  of  consulting  at  an  early 
stage, as well as later in the process. 

In cases where no open public consultation was carried out within the IA process, the 
nature  of  the  initiatives  justify  the  exclusive  use  of  targeted  consultations  in  the 
majority  of  cases,  i.e.  ‘narrow’  proposals  with  impacts  limited  to  a  specific  sector, 
proposals with specific consultation requirements (such as eco-design consultation32 
or  consultation  of  social  partners)  and  proposals  building  on  the  results  of  other 
recent open consultations. 

31 
32 

Consultations published on Your Voice in Europe. 
The  comitology  committees  are  consulted  before  preparation  of  the  implementing  measures  setting 
ecodesign requirements for energy-related products. In addition, the Ecodesign Directive established the 
ecodesign  consultation  forum  —  a  group  of  experts  which  allows  stakeholders  to  be  informed  and 
provide  their  contribution  on  the  implementation  of  the  Ecodesign  Directive.  A consultation  of  the 
ecodesign forum replaces open public consultations. 

EN 

11 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Figure  3:  Type  of  consultation  (open  public  consultation  and  targeted 
consultations)33 

Year 

2010 

Consultations on 
YViE34  
Number of IAs 

open public 
consultation35 
other types of 
consultation36  
no open 
consultation37  
other types of 
consultation38  

97 

65 

42 

38 

23 

23 

2011 

130 

147 

117 

96 

30 

30 

2012 

101 

47 

31 

26 

16 

16 

Overall,  these  findings  suggest  that  stakeholders  could  be  better  involved  at  a  later 
stage in policy-making, and that they could be more consistently consulted on all key 
aspects of an IA. This could be achieved by further improving consultation planning, 
and  by  establishing  clearer  and  more  complete  consultation  strategies  early  in  the 
policy-making  process.  These  strategies  should  ideally  address  the  whole  policy-
making  process,  clearly  identifying  what  type  of  consultation  is  needed,  for  what 
purpose, at what stage, with whom and by means of which instruments. 

3.2.2.  Openness and reach 

For  consultations  to  provide  useful  and  balanced  input  for  policy  design,  it  is 
essential to seek the whole spectrum of relevant stakeholders’ views so as not to be 
unduly  influenced  by  any  specific  interests.  The  challenges  of  reaching  the  right 
stakeholders and getting the necessary information from them are well known. First, 
consultation documents must be clear, complete and easily understandable by those 
to whom they are addressed. Secondly, target groups must be clearly identified and 
actively sought out, to ensure they are granted a real possibility of participating in the 
consultation.  

33 

34 

35 
36 
37 
38 

Source:  Impact  assessments  scrutinised  by  the  IAB  between  January  2010  and  August  2012.  ‘Year’ 
corresponds  to  the  year  in  which  the  IAB  examined  the  impact  assessment.  ‘Other  types  of 
consultation’  include:  stakeholder  meetings,  public  hearings,  workshops,  conferences,  surveys, 
consultation of specific groups (SMEs, social partners, etc.), advisory committees, expert groups, etc. 
The year of consultation publication on YViE does not necessarily coincide with the year in which the 
IA was scrutinised by the IAB. Therefore it is not possible to match the figures from the YViE dataset 
with  those  of  the  IA  dataset.  However,  it  gives  an  indication  that  Commission  consultations  are  not 
restricted to proposals accompanied by an IA. 
Out of total number of IAs.  
Out of number of IAs for which open public consultation was carried out. 
Out of total number of IAs. 
Out of number of IAs for which open public consultation was not carried out. 

EN 

12 

   EN 

 
  
                                                 
The  review  therefore  assessed  the  quality  and  accessibility  of  consultation 
documents,  looked  at  the  ways  in  which  communication  channels  are  used  to  raise 
awareness  about  consultations,  and  assessed  the  experience  with  consultations 
targeted at specific stakeholders. 

Concerning  the  clarity  and  completeness  of  consultation  documents,  some 
respondents  to  the  public  consultation  indicated  that  documents  were  not  always 
comprehensive and sufficiently clear, especially to the non-expert reader. 

One particular need for improvement identified concerned the clarity of IPM online 
questionnaires. Several replies pointed out the limitations of IPM questionnaires and 
called  for  a  more  limited  and  careful  use  of  these  online  tools.  Cited  limitations 
included  insufficient  predefined  character  spaces  for  answers,  the  use  of  leading 
questions and simple yes/no alternatives which do not allow stakeholders to express 
their views. 

An in-house assessment of a set of questionnaires confirmed that questions could at 
times  be  formulated  in  clearer  and  simpler  ways.  As  for  frequency  of  use,  Table  4 
indicates that, overall, the use of consultation documents and the IPM questionnaire 
is  balanced  for  the  open  public  consultations  (141  IPM  questionnaires  and  165 
consultation documents, including Green and White papers). There may, however, be 
a trend towards greater IPM use. 

Another recurring concern with regard to the accessibility of consultations was their 
availability  in  different  EU  languages.  Stakeholders  can  provide  answers  to 
Commission consultations in any of the EU official languages but some respondents 
believe consultation documents should also be available in all languages. 

The data, as indicated in the table below, shows that many consultations are already 
available  in  more  than  one  language.  Most  Green  Papers  are  translated  into  all 
languages.  The  Commission  cannot  undertake  to  make  all  consultation  documents 
available in all EU official languages, because translation resources are limited and 
are primarily needed for the Commission’s legal-translation obligations. Within these 
overall  constraints,  lead  services  assess  which  language  versions  are  needed  to 
ensure a particular consultation reaches the intended stakeholders.  

Figure 4: Consultation tools and available languages39 

Year  

Total number of 
consultations 

2010 

97 

2011 

130 

2012 

101 

39 

Source: Consultations published on Your Voice in Europe. 2012 data is until the end of August. ‘Year’ 
corresponds to the year of consultation end date, in line with the classification used in YViE portal. For 
2010  and  2011,  information  on  consultation  languages  was  not  available  for  13  and  9  consultations 
respectively. For IPM questionnaires, it is not possible to know which languages other than EN were 
available  unless  pdf  versions  of  questionnaires  are  still  available  online  (number  of  such  cases  is 
indicated in the last entry in IPM questionnaire line). 

EN 

13 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Consultation 
document 

1 language EN (31)
2-4 languages (10) 
22 languages (6) 

1 language EN (1) 
3 languages (2) 
13 languages (1) 
22 languages (2) 
3 languages (1) 

Green Paper 

White Paper 

IPM 
questionnaire  

1 language EN (37)
2-5 languages (6) 
21-22 languages 
(15) 
22 languages (12)  3 languages (1) 

1 language EN (16) 
3 languages (2) 
22 languages (17) 

22 languages (5) 

n/a 

n/a 

2-6 languages (4) 
23 languages (1) 
EN (25) 

3-6 languages (8) 
22-23 languages (3)
EN (40) 

1 language EN (25) 
3-6 languages (8) 
22 languages (3) 
EN (24) 

Finally,  giving  interested  parties  enough  time  to  voice  their  concerns  and  views  is 
essential  if  consultations  are  to  provide  useful  input  for  policy  making.  The 
introduction  of  a  12-week  consultation  period  has  been  broadly  welcomed  by  the 
respondents  to  the  public  consultation  but  some  of  them  called  for  a  stricter 
enforcement of its application. However, as shown in Table 5, Commission services 
generally  comply  with  the  time  limits  for  consultation,  the  compliance  rate  being 
around 90 % for the three years assessed. 

Figure 5: Respect of consultation time limits40 

Year  

2010 

2011 

2012 (8 weeks) 

2012 (12 weeks) 

Total number of 
consultations 

Exact start date 
& end date 
known 

8 / 12 weeks 
respected  

97 

130 

20 

81 

76 

113 

20 

81 

87 % 

96 % 

95 % 

89 % 

As  for  the  tools  used  to  reach  stakeholders,  roadmaps41  currently  give  advance 
warning  of  forthcoming  policy  initiatives  and  related  consultations.  This  facilitates 
stakeholder  involvement.  Most  respondents  to  the  consultation  appreciated  this 
system of consultation planning but many stated they would welcome a dedicated 

40 

41 

Source:  Consultations  published  on  Your  Voice  in  Europe.  2012  data  is  until  end  of  August.  ‘Year’ 
corresponds  to  the  year  of  consultation  end  date,  in  line  with  the  classification  used  in  YViE  portal. 
Consultation  period  is  calculated  as:  [consultation  end  date  —  consultation  start  date]/7.  Compliance 
with the time limit is considered when consultation period >=7.5 (11.5) weeks. 
http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/planned_ia/planned_ia_en.htm. 

EN 

14 

   EN 

 
 
 
                                                 
centralised  consultation  planning  calendar.  Some  also  pointed  to  overlapping 
consultations and asked for roadmaps to be regularly updated. 

The  Commission  also  widely  publicises  the  launch  of  its  consultations  through  its 
single access portal ‘Your Voice in Europe’. Some 330 consultations were posted on 
this portal between January 2010 and August 2012. Feedback received in the public 
consultation shows that this portal and the alert system linked to it are in practice the 
main tool used to learn about Commission consultations, although many also become 
aware of consultations through the individual websites of Commission directorates-
general, or by alerts through existing stakeholder networks. Respondents frequently 
acknowledged  the  publication  of  all  consultations  on  a  single  website  as  good 
practice.  However,  they  also  pointed  to  the  need  to  widen  the  existing  alert 
mechanism  to  include  the  publication  of  summary  reports  and  to  extend  its 
availability  to  all  interested  parties,  not  only  those  registered  in  the  Transparency 
Register. 

In  addition,  efforts  are  also  made  to  reach  specific  stakeholder  groups.  Simplified 
questionnaires are prepared for consulting SMEs and are translated and distributed to 
the  target  companies  via  the  Enterprise  Europe  network  partners  in  the  Member 
States.  A  similar  approach  is  used  to  consult  local  and  regional  authorities  through 
the networks of the Committee of the Regions. Some services also use social media 
to communicate with interested parties or publicise new consultations in newsletters, 
press-releases or press events. 

Respondents  to  the  public  consultation  recognised  the  usefulness  of  such  targeted 
tools  but  also  pointed  out  their  limitations  in  terms  of  the  representativeness  of 
replies and the transparency with which those asked to take part in a consultation are 
selected. 

Some  respondents  also  indicated  that  the  Commission  should  advertise  the 
consultations in a more proactive way, including via more systematic direct contacts 
with  targeted  stakeholders.  The  use  of  communication  channels  in  Member  States 
should also be explored. 

3.2.3.  Use of results 

The review of sample IAs and the internal consultations with services confirmed that 
the  input  from  consultations  is  generally  useful  to  the  decision-making  process. 
However,  this  varies  from  case  to  case,  depending  upon  a  correct  choice  of 
consultation  tools  and  whether  efforts  to  reach  all  relevant  stakeholders  were 
successful.  For  instance,  targeted  consultations  provide  more  useful  input  for 
‘narrow’,  technical  proposals  with  impacts  limited  to  clearly  defined  stakeholder 
groups, while open consultations are more suitable for cross-cutting topics and topics 
of general interest that directly affect citizens, workers and businesses across sectors.  

EN 

15 

   EN 

 
In  addition,  to  make  sure  results  provide  a  well-balanced  input,  it  is  important  to 
assess  the  representativeness  and  relative  importance  of  different  (categories  of) 
respondents.42  

As  regards  the  respondents  to  public  consultations,  they  clearly  indicated  that 
consulting when policy choices are still open is essential if public consultations are to 
shape policy-making rather than the opposite. 

Many also stated there had been insufficient feedback and follow-up of their input. 
Providing  timely  and  better  quality  feedback,  clearly  showing  how  and  to  what 
extent  the  input  to  the  consultation  influences  policy  shaping,  would  improve  the 
transparency  of  the  policy-development  process  and  solicit  better  responses  to 
consultations.  Resource  constraints,  however,  limit  the  extent  to  which  the 
Commission can respond to individual concerns.  

Nevertheless,  as  indicated  in  Figure  6,  existing  Commission  minimum  standards  in 
this  area  should  be  better  respected.  Similarly,  the  recommendations  of  the  Impact 
Assessment  Board  indicate  that  there  is  scope  to  improve  the  way  in  which 
stakeholder  input  is  analysed  in  impact assessment  reports.  In  2011,  the  number  of 
IAB  recommendations  relating  to  stakeholder  consultation  increased  for  the  third 
year in a row, reaching 68 % of opinions in 201143. 

Figure 6: Availability of individual replies and summary consultation reports44 

Year  

No of consultations 

2010 

97 

2011 

130 

2012 

101 

Individual 
contributions 

Summary report 

Published (53) 
Not published (36) 
n/a (8) 
Published (42) 
Not published (47) 
n/a (8) 

Published (80) 
Not published (46) 
n/a (4) 
Published (74) 
Not published (53) 
n/a (3) 

Published (18) 
Not published (46)
n/a (37) 
Published (15) 
Not published (49)
n/a (37) 

4. 

REVIEW’S CONCLUSION AND WAYS FORWARD 

Those  who  are  affected  by  regulation  or  have  to  implement  it  are  best  placed  to 
assess  its  costs  and  benefits.  Hearing  the  concerns  and  proposals  of  citizens  and 
stakeholders is therefore fundamental for smart regulation at all stages of the policy 
cycle. 

42 

43 
44 

For instance, for social partner organisations to be consulted under Article 154 TFEU, the Commission 
conducts regularly the assessments of their representativeness. 
See 2011 IAB report: http://ec.europa.eu/governance/impact/key_docs/docs/sec_2012_0101_en.pdf. 
Source:  Consultation  published  on  Your  Voice  in  Europe.  2012  data  is  until  end  of  August.  'Year' 
corresponds to the year of consultation end date, in line with the classification used in YViE portal for 
some consultations, information is not available as the relevant webpage links are no longer active, or 
consultations are still open (for 2012). 

EN 

16 

   EN 

 
 
                                                 
The  Commission  review  of  how  it  consults  during  the  policy  design  phase  has 
confirmed  its  consultation  policy  and  its  tools  remain  valid  and  fulfil  international 
best  standards45.  The  review  has  also  confirmed  the  progress  in  implementation 
achieved since the introduction of the general principles and minimum standards in 
2002. 

Nevertheless,  the  analysis  of  current  practices  and  the  responses  from  stakeholders 
highlighted areas where further performance improvements should be sought. 

Consultations do not always ask all the right questions and those who are affected by 
a policy do not always provide the answers needed. This is related to: 

•  The  quality  of  the  consultation  documents  used,  particularly  in  the  case  of 
questionnaire-based  consultations.  Although  efforts  are  made  to  ensure  that 
consultation documents are detailed, comprehensive and unbiased, at times they 
lack clarity and/or questions may not allow for the full expression of stakeholder 
views. 

•  The  trade  offs  between  the  early  and  late  timing  of  open  public  consultations 
relative  to  the  policy-design  process.  Both  options  have  pros  and  cons  but  two 
rounds of open 12-weeks consultations would in most cases lead to consultation 
fatigue and excessive delay in policy-making. 

•  The cost and difficulty of reaching the relevant stakeholders. The time limit for 
consultation  has  already  been  extended,  facilitating  input  from  all,  but  greater 
efforts could be warranted in terms of more proactive advertising, more efficient 
communication  strategies,  more  representative  and  transparent  tools  used  for 
targeted  consultation  and  better  systematic  feedback.  Also,  constrained 
administrative  resources  limit  the  extent  to  which  key  documents  can  be 
translated. Within these limits, the Commission will nevertheless strive to ensure 
a wider availability of translated consultation documents.  

Addressing  these  problems  would  lead  to  further  improvement  in  respecting  the 
minimum  standards  and  in  the  quality  of  the  Commission’s  consultation  processes. 
As  a  result,  public  consultation  could  even  more  efficiently  support  the  impact 
assessment  process  and  feed  into  the  decision-making  process.  Given  that  the 
weaknesses are largely related to the implementation of the existing policy, the areas 
for  improvement  outlined  below  refer  mainly  to  Commission  processes.  Measures 
and actions to be taken include: 

Adjusting the Minimum standards 

•  While  the  current  minimum  standards  remain  valid,  they  will  be  revised  to 
provide more practical, operational guidance. For example, they will clarify the 
exact  scope  of  application  of  standards  (for  instance  in  case  of  targeted 
consultations or consultations in the context of ex-post evaluations). They will 
also  set  out  criteria  for  shorter  consultation  rounds  —  either  before  or  after 
a full  12-week  open  consultation  —  to  facilitate  more  thorough  consultation 
during the impact assessment process.  

45 

See 2012 OECD ‘Recommendation of the Council on Regulatory Policy and Governance’. 

EN 

17 

   EN 

 
                                                 
Improving Planning 

• 

Further  facilitate  stakeholders’  responses  by  publishing  a  rolling  calendar  of 
planned consultations on the 'Your Voice in Europe' webpage. This could also 
help avoiding overlapping or repetitive consultations of the same target groups 
through different channels.  

Using Innovative Consultation Tools 

• 

• 

To supplement  more  standard document or questionnaire-based consultations, 
the use of new tools will be explored and more effective and efficient recourse 
to structured hearings and multi-staged consultations will be encouraged.  

Seek  ways  to  better  mobilize  the  existing  communication  channels  through 
which  Member  States  administration  publicize  national  consultations  so  as  to 
enhance the outreach to stakeholders. 

Feedback 

• 

Feedback  to  consultations  will  be  improved  by  developing  alert  systems  to 
notify  respondents  at  key  stages  in  the  follow-up  policy-making  cycle,  by 
better reflecting the results of consultations in the IA reports, by strengthening 
the  enforcement  of  the  mandatory  publication  of  a  summary  of  public 
consultation  responses,  by  developing  a  standard  template  for  such  summary 
(to  ensure  for  instance  an  appropriate  reflection  of  the  contributions  by 
different  respondent  groups)  and  by  striving  to  ensure  its  more  frequent 
translation in a wider set of languages. 

Internal quality support and control 

•  More  support  will  be  given  to  lead  services  to  help  them  to  design  the  best 
consultation  strategy,  identifying  the  best  mix  and  use  of  consultation  tools, 
and to improve the quality of consultation documents.  

• 

Quality-control mechanisms will be strengthened.  

EN 

18 

   EN