The EU agenda for better regulation

SUMMARY OF:

Communication COM(2015) 215 final – the EU agenda for better regulation

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE COMMUNICATION?

The European Commission’s 2015 communication establishing the better regulation agenda sets out a package of reforms for improving European Union (EU) law and policymaking to ensure that these:

are based on sound evidence;
involve businesses, citizens and stakeholders in their design;
avoid imposing unnecessary burdens; and
bring tangible and sustainable benefits for EU citizens.

KEY POINTS

The better regulation agenda builds on existing procedures and processes for improving EU law and policymaking, including:

impact assessments;
evaluations;
public consultations (via the Have Your Say portal); and
the regulatory fitness and performance programme (REFIT), which has a scoreboard to keep track of all initiatives to improve legislation.

Specifically, the agenda provides for the following.

Greater openness and transparency through more extensive public consultation and better explanations of proposed laws and policies.
Close scrutiny of existing laws and policies, for instance through the establishment of the independent Regulatory Scrutiny Board to assess the quality of impact assessments and review evaluations of existing laws.
An interinstitutional agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Commission, which seeks to ensure that all parties legislate better, for example by prioritising initiatives that improve existing laws and conducting impact assessments of any substantial amendments put forward by the Parliament or the Council to Commission proposals.
Better evaluation of existing legislation, notably through the REFIT programme. By means of REFIT, the EU assesses adopted EU legislation to make it more effective and efficient without compromising policy objectives. Over time, REFIT has become more targeted, looking at the most serious sources of inefficiency and unnecessary burdens, and better embedded in the Commission’s decision-making process. Where possible, it quantifies the simplification and burden-reduction potential, and it also examines the potential burdens that could arise from new legislation.
The creation of the REFIT platform (the mandate of which was replaced, in 2020, by the Fit for Future Platform), which was set up to advise the Commission on how to make EU regulations more efficient and effective while reducing burdens, without undermining policy objectives.
Action to reduce burdens in areas such as public procurement, for example by creating a standard data form for small and medium-sized enterprises in place of the previously existing complex procurement documentation.
Better implementation of EU laws through greater cooperation with EU Member States on ways to ensure compliance.

2021 communication, guidelines and toolbox

Having carried out a stocktaking of its better regulation agenda in 2019, the Commission adopted a communication in 2021 proposing improvements to the lawmaking process to help address both current and future challenges.
The communication highlights the importance of cooperation among the EU institutions and with Member States and stakeholders, including social partners, businesses and civil society. It also emphasises the need to mainstream the United Nations sustainable development goals and to address sustainability and integrate greater strategic foresight (e.g. by monitoring megatrends in the green, digital, geopolitical and socioeconomic fields) into policymaking.
To take on board the aspects raised in the communication, the Commission issued revised guidelines and created a toolbox to assist its departments when preparing new initiatives and proposals and when managing and evaluating existing measures.

BACKGROUND

For more information, see:

Better regulation: Why and how (European Commission).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions – Better regulation for better results – An EU agenda (COM(2015) 215 final, 19.5.2015).