At their next meeting on 23 October, the EU’s heads of state or government will once again address the issue of European competitiveness. In doing so, they will stress the urgent need to press ahead with simplification work, according to draft conclusions dated 13 October obtained by Agence Europe. While the leaders welcome the initiatives taken by the Commission - the simplification ‘omnibus’ - and the recent adoption of several of these texts, they say that the work could be done even more quickly.
According to the authors of the draft conclusions, the first ‘omnibus’ text on sustainability and corporate due diligence should be adopted by the end of the year. A plausible prospect, given that the European Parliament is about to adopt its position (see EUROPE 13729/18) and several MEPs have indicated their intention to conclude negotiations with the EU Council in December.
Following on from the various ‘omnibus’ laws it has already proposed, the European Commission is set to pursue this approach in other areas such as the automotive industry, military mobility, food safety, the environment and digital technology. The document mentions as well the revision of the REACH regulation on chemical substances.
The EU leaders are also expected to call on the Commission to identify other avenues for simplification, particularly “in the context of the report assessing the overall situation of the banking system in the Single Market envisaged for 2026”.
To see the draft conclusions: https://aeur.eu/f/ixq (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)