C 81/76
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
18.2.2022
Thursday 24 June 2021
G. whereas the ‘Have Your Say’ web portal has proven to be a useful point of access for citizens and stakeholders to participate in preparing Commission policy; whereas the European Court of Auditors, however, published a special report in 2019 with a set of recommendations to improve this portal, especially as regards the use of translation; H. whereas in 2018 the Commission began the practice of merging reports on the application of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality in the drafting of EU legislation with reports on its relations with national parliaments, thus giving more prominence to the views of national parliaments and avoiding overlaps between the two annual reports; I. whereas the Commission received 52 reasoned opinions from national parliaments on the principle of subsidiarity in 2017, 37 in 2018 and none in 2019; J. whereas the absence of reasoned opinions from national parliaments in 2019 was not due to better implementation of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, but rather to the fact that 2019 was a transitional year between two Commissions and with the dissolution of the European Parliament and the holding of European elections, and therefore one with fewer legislative initiatives and proposals than in previous years; K. whereas Parliament appreciates the need for stronger involvement of national parliaments alongside the European Parliament in the democratic scrutiny of enhanced cooperation in the case of policy areas of joint competence; L. whereas the Committee of the Regions recently introduced in March 2021 Regional Hubs 2.0; whereas this project was launched on the Committee’s own initiative to monitor how EU policies work on the ground; M. whereas the mandate of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board includes checking the quality of impact assessments; N. whereas the Commission has committed to applying the ‘one in, one out’ principle, which states that every legislative proposal creating new burdens should relieve people and businesses of an equivalent existing burden at EU level in the same policy area, but has so far failed to apply this principle successfully; O. whereas the current crisis has revealed the need to identify and alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens to make sure that EU laws deliver their intended benefits while reducing unnecessary costs and within reasonable time frames, in particular speeding up support measures for consumers, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro enterprises; whereas for the benefit of consumers, workers, SMEs and citizens as a whole, legislation should be balanced, clear, comprehensive, inclusive and, where appropriate, based on the necessary scientific evidence; underlines that micro enterprises and SMEs should only face obligations commensurate with their specificities and the characteristics of their sector, and encourages the Commission to use strong enforcement action to limit market fragmentation, remove unjustified market barriers and ensure a level playing field; whereas, however, ‘Better Regulation’ should deliver for all and serve the interests of European society; P. whereas Parliament, the Commission and the Council, as legislative bodies, must respect the principles of conferral, subsidiarity and proportionality; 1.
Recalls the importance of the Commission’s annual reports on subsidiarity and proportionality;
2.
Welcomes the constant consideration of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality, which are fundamental guiding principles for the European Union; recalls the importance of promoting a common understanding at EU level of subsidiarity and proportionality, and notes the concerns raised in previous reports about the somewhat perfunctory character of the Commission’s annual reports on subsidiarity and proportionality, which often fail to pay detailed consideration to how these principles are observed in EU policy-making; acknowledges the growing comprehensiveness of the Commission’s annual reports on subsidiarity and proportionality; 3.
Recalls the importance that the principle of subsidiarity as enshrined in Article 5 TEU, according to which decisions must be taken at the most appropriate policy level and as closely as possible to citizens and businesses, is constantly respected and that action at EU level is justified in the light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local level, while respecting the following three fundamental processes: retrospective assessment, impact assessment and consultation