Brussels, 25/11/2004 (Agence Europe) - Thursday's Competitiveness Council adopted a list of seventeen legislative acts already in force and which require simplification, essentially with regards form. The Council also draws the attention of the European Commission to remarks - not included in the list - made by a large number of Member States on access to Structural Funds.
The Council considers it necessary to reduce the regulatory obstacles that hamper competitiveness in Europe. It reiterates the importance that it pays to the Commission's programme of legislative simplification and hopes to contribute to this by forwarding to it a list of seventeen legislative acts already in force and for which there is sufficient experience of implementation at national level. The list includes fifteen directives and two regulations The directives concern the internal market (5), the environment (5), transport (2), agriculture (1), public health (1) and social policy (1). Two regulations concern trade statistics. The Council suggests several simplification measures which: - consolidate some acts, clarify the definitions contained in the texts and reduce red tape, which hampers the activity of small and medium-sized enterprise (SMEs). The bureaucratic obstacles identified include obligations to produce reports or fulfil certain administrative formalities. The Council, for example, considers that it is possible to simplify compulsory formalities for the transport of empty containers as stipulated in Directive 75/442/EEC on waste.
The Council explained the methodology applied when preparing such a list. At the request of the Irish and Dutch Presidencies, the Member States forwarded 350 suggestions for simplification covering several aspects of Community acquis. The Dutch Presidency then proposed a first selection of 144 proposals, reduced to 42, by granting special importance to the competitiveness criteria. Suggestions concerning access to Structural Funds were not retained as review of the legislation concerning these funds is not on the agenda immediately. However, given the large number of Member States that raised such issues, the Presidency hopes to draw the Commission's attention to this subject. Also, the Council foresees work being carried out at a later date on suggestions concerning the recent European legislation on electronic trade and on Integrated Pollution and Prevention Control (IPPC).
In the field of improving legislative work, the Competitiveness Council also notes the Commission's report on impact assessments which accompany legislative proposals, and undertakes to take account of the main elements of the report.