The BusinessEurope Omnibook to reduce regulatory burdens

Introductory remarks

Regulatory burden continues to weigh heavily on EU businesses. We know from surveys with our members that regulatory burden, besides cost of energy, are one of the major obstacles to long-term investment in Europe. The annual investment shortfall to close gaps in innovation, infrastructure, twin transition and resilience of our economy is between €750bn-800bn, as assessed by the Draghi report of 2024. Both the Letta and Draghi reports underline the same point: if Europe wants to stay competitive and attract investment, we need urgent action to reduce regulatory burden and bureaucracy, especially at a time when Europe’s economic strength is vital to its security.

The first year of EU “Omnibus” proposals for regulatory simplification is over. We acknowledge an unprecedented effort by the European Commission to start a comprehensive burden reduction agenda. On our part, over the past 12 months and in three batches published separately in January, July and December 2025, BusinessEurope has identified and tabled almost 140 of the most pressing regulatory burdens across 10 policy areas, alongside concrete suggestions to address them.

Today we present a consolidated version that brings together all three batches, including the latest 44 proposals of December, into one reference document directly contributing to the EU agenda to reduce regulatory burdens and ease doing business in Europe. Through this work, BusinessEurope continues to act as a partner in shaping solutions and offering concrete recommendations that contribute toward the delivery of the EU’s burden reduction agenda.

Some suggestions have already been taken on board by the European Commission and the co-legislators, though not all of the outcomes of negotiations on the respective “omnibuses” meet the needs of European
businesses. While first steps in the right direction are welcome, much more needs to be done to provide the European economy with the simplification boost it needs and to come anywhere close to the promised
reduction of regulatory burden by at least 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs. This Omnibook shall be a compass for the continued efforts to reduce regulatory burden.