Better regulation: EU policy-making geared towards the future
EU legislative and decision-making procedures need to be more transparent, participative and future-oriented, according to Parliament.
In a report adopted on Thursday with 453 votes in favour, 26 against and 87 abstentions, MEPs outline a series of recommendations to strengthen EU’s strategy on better law-making and to make EU legislation fit for purpose, proportionate, transparent and comprehensive. The report underlines that the Commission’s better regulation agenda should take into account economic, environmental, gender and social impact in a balanced way.
Sustainability
The text recalls EU’s commitment in being a global frontrunner in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals but regrets the lack of an SDG implementation strategy by the Commission. MEPs further call on the Commission to clearly define the “do no significant harm principle” which should take into account the broader costs and benefits to society, such as the public health and environmental impact. They also recommend that the Commission adopts a “sustainability first” approach to policy making, with a priority for long-term sustainability.
Digitalisation
Parliament agrees with the promotion of a “digital by default” principle in future proposals and the benefits arising from technologies like AI to make legislation more citizen-friendly and to help reduce administrative burdens. However, they want the Commission to apply regulatory sandboxes (concrete frameworks which enable testing of innovate technologies in a real world environment) to legislation related to digital transformation on a case-by-case basis, taking into account EU added value and proportionality.
One in, one out approach and the Regulatory Scrutiny Board
The text calls for an increased transparency and independence of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board, including by making the transparency register mandatory for its members. On the “one in, one out” approach (aimed at offsetting newly introduced burdens by relieving citizens and businesses of equivalent burdens at EU level in the same policy area) MEPs emphasise it should not be translated into deregulation or “no-regulation”, nor should it prevent member states from adopting higher social, environmental or consumer protection standards. They call on the Commission to make its "one in, one out" calculator public and to use it only after receiving support from the other EU institutions.
Transparency and citizens’ participation
Transparent decision-making confers greater confidence in the EU democratic legislative process, remind MEPs. They stress that all Europeans must be able to easily follow the EU legislative procedure and call for all related documents to be available in all EU official languages as soon as possible. A more ambitious access to documents policy is needed and current rules need to be better implemented, including on access to internal or trilogue documents.
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The rapporteur Tiemo Wölken (S&D, DE) said: “In order to gain trust there needs to be transparency. When looking at the Regulatory Scrutiny Board, transparency is simply missing. Effective checks on the Commission’s work are possible only if the Board is independent and impartial”.
“I am very sceptical on the “one in, one out” approach and the energy that will be required from Commission staff to have legislation tick this box while it could be useful elsewhere. This approach must under no circumstances run counter to the objectives of better regulation. It needs to be based on transparent and evidence-based methodology, which considers administrative, economic, environmental and social impacts”, he added.
More recommendations
The report makes a series of recommendation in the areas of human rights, protection of SMEs, improvement of consultation procedures and impact assessments, cooperation with national parliaments and between institutions, protection of persons with disabilities, strategic foresight, enforcement and implementation of EU law, which you can read in the final report here.
Background
On 29 April, the EU Commission presented a communication on Better regulation, which proposes improvements to the EU law-making process. The actions include simplifying public consultations, introducing a “one in, one out” approach, mainstreaming the UN Sustainable Development Goals, supporting the Green and Digital transition and integrating strategic foresight into policymaking.
Contacts:
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Yasmina YAKIMOVA
Press Officer