The Commission Working Document entitled “First progress report on the strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment” highlights the Commission’s contribution to the common goal shared with European Institutions and Member States to simplify the regulatory environment for EU businesses and citizens. This report evaluates progress made since the launch of the simplification strategy in October 2005 and further reinforces the simplification programme with the addition of more than 40 new initiatives for the period 2006-2009,
The new strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment launched in October 2005 incorporated a three-year rolling programme, covering about 100 initiatives to be repealed, recast, codified or reviewed over the next three years. This programme is by far the most ambitious simplification exercise ever launched by the Commission. (See MEMO/05/340)
1. Progress achieved by the Commission
Of the 14 actions scheduled for 2005, 12 have been completed. For 2006, out of 54 initiatives initially planned, 15 initiatives have been adopted and 24 have been confirmed for adoption before the end of this year. Consequently, more than half of the initial programme covering the period 2005-2008 will have been adopted by the end of 2006.
a. Examples of proposals adopted by the Commission:
Making Europe a recycling society by proposing a new strategy on the prevention and recycling of waste in order to avoid waste and uses waste as a resource. The objective of the revision of the waste legislation was to clarifying definitions, streamlining provisions and integrating directives on hazardous waste and on waste oils; EU environment legislation helps to improve the way we dispose waste and recycle specific waste streams, such as municipal waste, packaging, cars and electric and electronic equipment. (IP/05/1673)
Modernised customs code and electronic paper-free customs in the EU and the creation of pan-European electronic systems for data exchange between public authorities and companies: This will facilitate and streamline the customs procedure, making international trade much simpler and faster for both the authorities concerned and businesses involved in cross-border trading. The result should be to increase the competitiveness of companies doing business in Europe, reduce compliance costs and improve EU security. (IP/05/1501)
Simplified regulatory framework and incentives for SMEs, which are developing pharmaceuticals including reduced fees, options for deferred payment of fees, simplified administrative procedures and administrative and regulatory assistance when submitting applications to the European Medicines Agency.
Strengthened accounting rules and freeing small companies from red tape to spur on economic growth. Thresholds defining small and medium sized companies (balance sheet total and net turn over) will be increased by 20%, which will help to reduce those companies’ financial reporting burdens. (IP/05/1617)
Payment services – pay anywhere in the EU as you would do at home: The aim is to make cross-border payments – by credit card, debit card, electronic bank transfer, direct debit or any other means – as easy, cheap and secure as ‘national’ payments within one Member State. At present, each Member State has its own rules on payments, and the annual cost of making payments between these fragmented systems is 2-3% of GDP. Service providers are effectively blocked from competing and offering their services throughout the EU. (IP/05/1514)
b. Examples of ongoing work
Some main initiatives are under examination by the Commission such as:
Environment: review of the Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Directive (IPPC) and other related legislation on industrial emissions with a view to improving clarity and consistency (notably in terms of reporting) and streamlining requirements.
Construction products Directive, to clarify and reduce the administrative burden, in particular for SMEs, through more flexibility in the formulation and use of technical specifications, lighter certification rules, and elimination of the implementation obstacles that so far have hampered the creation of a full internal market for construction products.
Food additives and flavouring – Simplification of legislation by creating one single instrument for principles, procedures and approvals.
Accounting and financial reporting standards: The aim is to provide EU firms with an up-do-date set of Financial Reporting Standards by merging the current set of regulations, amounting to over 2000 pages, into one single user-friendly regulation.
Automotive Regulatory Framework: The pending proposal for the revision of the framework Directive on type-approval of motor vehicles, when approved, will allow:
the replacement of EC Directives by UN/ECE regulations. This simplification will streamline regulations and remove redundant requirements, thus allowing industry to adapt faster to technical developments at international level
the introduction of necessary technical provisions for self-testing and virtual testing in 25 EC Directives and UN/ECE Regulations. It will simplify the type-approval procedure and allow the regulatory environment to be kept up to date with technological developments.
c. Examples of new initiatives
The Commission is reinforcing its simplification action with 43 new initiatives to double the number of initiatives for 2007 compared to the initial programme. The coverage of the rolling programme now progressively extends to all EU policy areas and covers the period 2006-2009.
Agriculture: the revised rolling programme incorporates the action plan to simplify EU procedures and rules in the agricultural domain. These will have an immediate impact on farmers, other economic operators and national administrations. The amendments concern for example obligations for farmers to keep documents available, the control obligations of Member States, the conditions for receiving support, etc;
Transfers of undertakings: reinforce safeguarding of employees’ rights in the event of change of employer in case of cross-border mergers;
Toys: improved safety of toys by reinforcing and updating the safety requirements based on new scientific developments in the fields of noise and chemicals. Better market surveillance system through more regular and efficient controls by Member States authorities;
Textiles: shorter period of time for adoption of new fibre names which means new textiles and clothing products faster on the markets. This will therefore encourage innovation and technological developments.
d. Codification
Codification (the process that brings together the provisions of an existing act with all its subsequent amendments into one single transparent, readable and legally certain piece of legislation): the codification rolling programme involves about 500 acts. A total of 52 have successfully gone through the codification process and have been adopted and published in the OJ (38 Commission acts and 14 acts of the European Parliament and the Council). In addition 33 acts are pending before the legislative authority and 8 acts are currently in written procedure. In total 85 acts have been finalised by the European Commission.
2. Joint efforts are the key to success
The regulatory environment for European businesses and citizens consists of several layers of often intertwined laws and rules generated at different levels (international, Community, national, regional and local). None of these regulators can improve the quality of this legislative network decisively on its own. Concrete improvement in the quality of the overall regulatory framework requires a determined, consistent and co-ordinated effort at all regulatory level.
The Commission Working document addresses the need to ensure that benefits of simplification at EU level are not cancelled out by new national rules or technical barriers added on top of European legislation. The Commission wants to promote the exchange of best practices and urges Member States to implement and reinforce their National Reform Programmes, by developing simplification exercises.
To achieve the objective of providing EU citizens and businesses with the benefits of lighter rules, he Council and the European Parliament have to join forces with the Commission. At present, major initiatives, including for example the modernisation of the Customs Code, the revision of waste legislation, the streamlining of structural business statistics and the repeal of the pre-packaging requirements, are still pending before the co-legislator. The inter-institutional cooperation with the European Parliament and the Council should be intensified to carry the simplification work forward to the final stages.
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