Brussels, 09/03/2016 (Agence Europe) - In Strasbourg on Wednesday 9 March, the European Parliament approved the text of the 'better regulation' inter-institutional agreement secured by the negotiators of the three institutions on 8 December 2015 (see EUROPE 11455).
In its adoption (516 votes in favour, 92 against and 95 abstentions) of the report by Danuta Maria Hübner (EPP, Poland) on this inter-institutional agreement, the EP takes the view that the agreement constitutes a “solid basis” to anchor and develop a new “more open and transparent” relationship between the institutions in order to improve rule-making in the interests of the citizens of the Union.
The EP underlines the importance of the provisions of the new inter-institutional agreement regarding the tools designed to improve regulation (impact assessments, consultations of the public and of stakeholders and assessments, amongst other things). It, however, expresses concern that the wording relating to the impact assessments do not sufficiently commit the three institutions to include SMEs and competitiveness tests in their impact assessments. The MEPs also welcome the agreement establishing cooperation between the institutions to update and simplify the legislation and to debate these questions prior to the completion of the working programme of the Commission (they stress the importance of the 'annual burden assessment' laid down in the agreement). Finally, the EP emphasises the need for “greater flexibility” in the enforcement of the eight-week deadline for national parliaments to issue a reasoned opinion on non-compliance with the principle of subsidiarity. The new agreement has still to be formally signed by the Presidents of the three institutions of the EU, prior to its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)