Brussels, 14/11/2005 (Agence Europe) - On 9 November, the ECOFIN Council adopted conclusions on reducing the administrative burden on business, inviting the 'Commission to start measuring administrative burdens, as validated by the pilot phase, on a consistent basis and in line with transparent criteria, as part of new EU regulatory proposals from January 2006,' and to provide a common basis for the collection and exchange of data. In a statement, the Commission underlines its 'intention to apply a new methodology for measuring administrative costs in its future legislative proposals, provided that its methodology is acceptable for the Council and also applied when Council assesses its amendments to Commission's proposals. The commission underlines that its commitment to apply a new common methodology depend on the commitment of the Member States to provide data for the purpose of EU assessments of administrative costs.'
The Council notes 'that the measurement of administrative burdens at the EU level complements and reinforces the domestic initiatives of a number of Member States, which remain voluntary in nature.' It reiterated 'its October 2004 invitation to the Commission and the Member States to consider developing quantitative objectives for the reduction of the administrative burden on business in selected areas. In this context, the ECOFIN Council invites the Commission to explore options… and to bring forward proposals on this issue by spring 2006.'