Brussels, 26/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - With the adoption by 86 votes in favour and one abstention of an opinion entitled "Simplifying Rules in the Single Market" (Rapporteur: Bruno Vever, France, Employers Group), the European Economic and Social Committee requests that the European Summit in Stockholm (spring 2001) adopt, on a Commission proposal, a multi-annual plan 2001-2005 for simplification of the Single Market rules, "with the priorities, a timetable, methods, budget and means of appraisal", and for implementation of this plan to be the subject of annual verification during each spring Summit. In order to give fresh impetus to the simplification process, the Committee proposes that the plan should provide for adoption of codes of conduct by the Union institutions and by Member States and that a more active role be attributed to the economic and social partners. As Bruno Vever stressed in plenary: "it is necessary to strengthen the impact analysis before any draft recommendation is presented by the Commission, entrusting it to an independent body, examining the possible alternatives to a regulation (such as contractual agreements and auto-regulation in socio-professional circles) and by making it public".
In addition to the prior examination of the alternatives to a regulation, the Committee recommends to the Commission that it "review the choice of regulatory tools" and considers it would be appropriate, in this respect, to: a) make more frequent use of Regulations in cases where this would appear to be necessary to achieve effective simplification; b) create conditions for successfully extending mutual recognition; c) reduce freedom for manoeuvre over the interpretation and implementation of Directives; and d) consider introducing Directives which would entrust the socio-economic players, rather than merely the Member States, with a share of responsibility for specifying and implementing the fundamental requirements of the Directives".
The Committee will also adopt a code of conduct providing for systematic examination of measures to be taken in order to achieve the aim of simplification - including an annual report - from the players' point of view, which are confronted by, and must adapt to, the regulations of the Single Market.
The Lisbon Summit had requested that measures for simplification of the regulatory environment be taken to improve the competitiveness of European companies. According to the Committee, "cumbersome and time-consuming rules and regulations are costly and have a negative effect on job creation, given that they penalise the entrepreneurial spirit and hamper new business start-ups".