Better Regulation

Key points

Better and smart regulation is a common task for all the European institutions and the Member States to the benefit of the public, business, consumers and employees. It does not, however, replace political decisions.

In its opinion, the EESC:

• welcomes the fact that the better regulation measures will cover the entire life cycle of a legal act and that both ex-ante and ex-post measures will thus be covered;
• notes that its views have not been given sufficient consideration, notwithstanding the role and function in the better regulation agenda assigned to it in the EU Treaties and the cooperation agreements with the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as its considerable work in this area;
• calls for the EU's consultative bodies to be included in the Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Regulation (IIA);
• supports the comprehensive involvement of stakeholders through consultations throughout the lifecycle of a political initiative;
• stresses the need to choose the appropriate stakeholders and calls for independence, impartiality and transparency in the choice of experts for the various bodies;
• calls for the inclusion of self- and co-regulation in the IIA and for more transparency in the implementation of informal trilogues and argues for the limited use of this instrument;
• calls for a stronger Commission focus on shortcomings in the transposition and application of EU law by the Member States, and for the use of regulations instead of directives.

Related EESC opinions -  Appendix to the opinion

Regulatory simplification

• Legislative barriers to competitiveness (INT/452 - CESE 865/2009)
• A strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment (INT/296 - CESE 952/2006)
• Updating and simplifying the acquis communautaire (INT/187 - CESE 500/2004)
• Simplification with particular reference to European Governance: Better lawmaking (INT/156 - CESE 398/2003)
• Simplifying and improving the regulatory environment (INT/134 - CESE 364/2002)
• Simplification (INT/104 - CESE 1496/2001)
• Simplifying rules in the single market (INT/037 - CESE 1174/2000)

Self and co-regulation

• Self-regulation and co-regulation (INT/754 - CESE 4850/2014)
• The State of co-regulation and self-regulation in the Single Market (INT/204 - CESE 169/2005)

Application and Implementation

• Adapting RPS acts to Articles 290 and 291 TFEU (INT/723 - CESE 7440/2013)
• Adapting RPS acts to Article 290 TFEU (INT/719-720 - CESE 5530/2013)
• Monitoring the application of Community Law (INT/492 - CESE 632/2010)
• Applying Community Law (INT/384 - CESE 482/2008)
• Improving the implementation of EU legislation (INT/262 - CESE 1069/2005)

Better Regulation

• Better Regulation: implementing acts and delegated acts (INT/656 - CESE 248/2013)
• Smart Regulation - Responding to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (INT/692 - CESE 2819/2013)
• Smart Regulation (INT/544 - CESE 984/2011)
• Better Regulation (INT/489 - CESE 1160/2010)
• The 28th regime - less lawmaking (INT/499 - CESE 758/2010)
• The proactive law approach (INT/415 - CESE 1905/2008)
• Better lawmaking (INT/265 - CESE1068/2005)

REFIT and Assessments

• Evaluation of European Commission stakeholder consultations (SC/40 - CESE 2021/2015)
• Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) (INT/750 - CESE 4458/2014)
• Consultation on the draft Commission impact assessment guidelines (INT/446 - CESE 1664/2008)
• Quality standards - Impact assessments (INT/333 - CESE 794/2007)

Single Market

• The Single Market Act - identifying missing measures (INT/688 - CESE 3154/2013)
• Single Market Act II (INT/655 - CESE 2039/2012)
• Key Actions towards a Single Market Act II (INT/648 - CESE 1575/2012, exploratory opinion requested by the European Commission)
• Single Market Act - 12 levers (INT/582 - CESE 1583/2011)
• Single Market Act (INT/548 - CESE 525/2011)