BusinessEurope’s reaction to the European Commission’s Better Regulation Communication

Key messages

• Regulatory self-restraint must become the rule and an immediate moratorium on new regulatory burden must be applied. New EU legislation should be the exception.
• Measurable regulatory burden reduction must be at the core of Better Regulation. This should be supported by clear KPIs.
• RSB and its opinions on impact assessments must be able to act as a real gatekeeper. Proposals should not advance if RSB negative opinions or recommendations are ignored.
• Simplification and burden reduction objectives must be protected throughout negotiations by the co-legislators. Proposals should be withdrawn by the Commission if amendments by the colegislators deviate from those objectives.
• The Regulatory Deep Cleaning initiative must deliver real burden reduction. Its scope should be expanded with strong political supervision instead of de-centralised governance left to individual Commission services.
• Stakeholder consultations must be improved and ensure meaningful participation of businesses. The forthcoming Simplification Platform must be guided by a clear, long-term objective of burden reduction for economic operators.
• Enforcement of existing rules must take priority over new legislation, including by allocating increased resources within the Commission for this purpose.
• Gold-plating must be effectively prevented through stronger monitoring and discipline in Member States.