On Thursday 4 December, the European Commissioner for Competition, Teresa Ribera, condemned the “terrible political spectacle” offered by the European Union’s legislators in the exercise to simplify EU legislation, which, if the necessary safeguards are not put in place, would lead to deregulation that would weaken European standards.
The legislative technique of ‘omnibus’ proposals has led to negotiations between the co-legislating institutions without any indication of where these discussions will end up. And “on too many occasions we’ve the sense that it is not simplification but messy combination of things that end in uncertainty”, said Ms Ribera, speaking at an event organised by the Bruegel think-tank.
The Commissioner rejected any deregulation that “removes protections, increases costs, creates uncertainty and discourages investment”. This is a “’Trumpian’ approach” that runs counter to the EU’s approach of remaining “stable, reliable and predictable”. She warned that succumbing to external pressure would be tantamount to “denying our soul and our identity”.
Ms Ribera did not reject the simplification of regulations, but said that it was necessary to be “much more serious” in the way it was applied in order to “avoid duplication, align procedures and improve the clarity” of the rules. However, this must not lead to a weakening of standards or to further fragmentation, she stressed.
The Commissioner also noted that the ‘omnibus’ exercise was “contested”, referring to the results of an enquiry by the European Ombudsman which identified procedural shortcomings in the preparation of simplification legislative proposals (see EUROPE 13761/29). (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)