Brussels, 20/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - For environmental NGOs there is no doubt: the reform proposed by the European Commission on Tuesday 19 May with the stated aim of improving the quality of EU legislation in fact represents a threat to the protection of the environment, health and the safety of EU citizens (see EUROPE 11317). Hence the initiative taken by a group of some 50 civil society organisations to form a “watchdog” network on better law-making.
These NGOs are concerned both by the prospect of a weakening or even dismantling of key EU legislation and by what they feel is an attempt by the Commission to put the interests of big business before the general interest by weakening the democratic process.
“These reforms are more about bartering regulation than bettering it. The European Commission's so-called 'Better Regulation' proposal is about introducing more and more barriers to prevent new environmental, labour and health and safety standards that protect citizens. The new initiatives proposed also risk weakening existing standards of food, chemicals and biodiversity”, commented Paul de Clerck, campaign coordinator at Friends of the Earth Europe, one of the members of the network. He added: “The Commission is trying to grab power from democratically elected parliamentarians and give it to business-friendly experts. We have seen from experience that so-called independent advisors only look at costs for business and ignore benefits for society. Truly better regulation must protect everyday citizens, workers and our environment more, not less”.
Justifying their fears, the new better regulation “watchdogs” regret:
- The strengthening of the role of REFIT (Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme). REFIT has recently resulted in the delay and weakening of legislation on air quality and resource use, and EU legislation to protect nature, currently being reviewed, is under threat. The Commission is proposing new REFIT initiatives on food, chemicals and environmental reporting;
- The creation of a Regulatory Scrutiny Board which will include three people from outside the Commission and will have a de facto power of veto even before Parliament or Council can have their say;
- The lighter legislative regime for small and medium-sized and companies and outright exemptions for micro-businesses, necessarily leaving citizens and the environment less well protected against negative impacts of these companies' operations;
- Less power for the European Parliament and more power to business lobby groups since the Commission wants to make sure that political compromises achieved by the Council and the European Parliament have to undergo another impact assessment, thus not only slowing down the legislative process but also providing another opportunity to take out elements that serve society but might result in costs for business.
Short-term view and hidden de-regulation? WWF is of the opinion that, with this new package, the Commission is perpetuating its narrow preoccupation with legislative efficiency at the expense of longer-term environmental as well as social priorities. It states that the package also seeks to further prioritise the reduction of regulatory burdens, posing further threat to long-established EU environmental policies. It regrets, further, that the European Parliament and member states are forced to align themselves with the ten political priorities as set out by the Juncker Commission, limiting their political power and threatening democratic debate.
“The Commission is proposing to put in place more and more checks for impact assessment and cutting so-called red tape, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises. Taken alone there is nothing wrong with that, but what is missing from this efficiency-led drive is a vision of where Europe is heading”, stated Tony Long, director of WWF European Policy Office, arguing that “the ten Commission priorities underpinning this reform fail to live up to the enormous complexity of the environmental challenges”. He said that the current scrutiny of the birds and habitats directives under the REFIT programme will be “an important litmus test of whether the European Commission is embarking on a better regulation agenda or rather a de-regulation drive in disguise”. (Aminata Niang)