Brussels, 05/06/2002 (Agence Europe) - As we expected, on Monday the European Commission adopted a plan consisting of different initiatives to improve European legislation. President Prodi immediately presented it to the Conference of Presidents at the European Parliament, which had been expanded to include the President of the Constitutional Committee, Georgio Napolitano and rapporteur, Manuel Medina Ortega.
This initiative is part of the White Paper on European Governance and completes the ideas put forward by the Commission to the European Convention. It aims to simplify and streamline the legislation and more effectively asses the impact on the economy, society and the environment, as well as improving consultation procedures at an early stage in the elaboration of proposals. It could be immediately implemented, with the Commission stressing that it does not require amendments to treaties. The other institutions (Parliament and Council) and Member States are called on to support this initiative and play their roles in full so that EU procedures are more accessible and recognisable by more accountability. President Prodi said: "European law is increasingly complex. All European institutions should step up their commitment to simplify regulation in order to reduce the cost of doing business in Europe and increase legal certainty for citizens." Adapting the Community Method is being examined by the Convention and the Commission, which consider that all the European institutions ought to re-examine their working methods and begin reform at once.
Concluding an Inter-institutional Agreement. Improving the quality of regulation requires key changes by the European Parliament and Council. The Commission asks them to conclude an inter-institutional agreement on better regulation. This follows the conclusions of the Lisbon European Council in 2000, which called on the Institutions and the Member States to establish a co-ordinated strategy for simplifying and improving the regulatory environment. For the Commission, this agreement should limit the content of directives to what really needs to be done at European level, promote impact assessment in respect of proposed amendments by Parliament and Council and lead to quicker adoption of legislation. The agreement should contain a work programme for the various institutions in order to reduce the existing quantity of EU law by at least 25% before January 2005. The Commission will make greater use of the possibility of withdrawing legislative proposals, on the basis of clearly identifiable criteria, particularly where Parliament and Council propose unacceptable amendments running counter to the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality.
Action Plan for better regulation. The Action Plan for Better Regulation identifies improvements at various stages of the legislative cycle. The Commission believes that EU laws should be written in a less complicated style, making it easier for Member State authorities to implement them. European legislation should also be easier to understand for members of the public. From 2003 we will progressively introduce a system whereby each major policy initiative will include: an overview of consultation with stakeholders; the results of the consultation; analysis of the measure's expected impact; and justification of the degree of legal constraint at EU level in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality. The Commission will set out in clear language why the initiative is needed at European level and rely more on co-regulatory approaches, whereby people and organisations take on commitments and responsibilities for achieving objectives fixed by EU legislators.
More open and equitable consultation. The Commission proposes minimum standards for consultation. These will apply at the stage of policy-shaping to a large number of proposals before decisions are taken. It will organise better and more equitable participation of all those interested in a policy proposal. It will improve accountability by making public, as far as possible, the results of the consultation and the lessons drawn. The Commission will: make available in a concise manner all information needed to facilitate responses; publish widely in order to meet all target audiences, using single access points on the Internet; allow sufficient time for responses; acknowledge receipt of contributions and display results of open public consultations on the Internet; and allow all relevant parties to express their opinions. The Commission calls on all those who are interested on what standards to adopt, to give their opinions on the different stages of the legislative process, the Commission, in co-operation with the other institutions, also envisages making improvements to the Internet-EURL-ex service. A database will pol information on the different bodies consulted.
Impact assessment of legislation. The social, economic and environmental effects of major initiatives will be assessed when policies are being devised. The Commission considers that "this new mechanism is a major step forward in improving the quality of regulatory and policy proposals, as it integrates and broadens the various impact assessment procedures currently used by the Commission". The results of each assessment will be made public. This new system should contribute in implementing the European Strategy for Sustainable Development, without for that substituting it, for political judgement. It will be gradually applied from 2003. The Commission points out that this impact assessment will help ensure that the EU stays away from all matters that can be regulated more efficiently and effectively at national level.