Better Regulation
A key priority for the
European Commission
"Public participation – together towards good legislation"
Brdo pri Kranju, 13th May 2015
Jeroen Casaer
European Commission
Secretariat-General
Unit 'Work Programme and
Stakeholder Consultation'
Political Guidelines 2014
Key challenges
for the new
Commission:
•
rebuild bridges in Europe after the crisis
•
restore citizens’ confidence in Europe
•
focus policies on the key challenges ahead for our
economies and societies
•
strengthen democratic legitimacy
After the European Parliament elections of
2014, the time has come for a new approach
Political Guidelines
"Agenda for Jobs,
Growth, Fairness and
Democratic Change":
•
•
•
Focus on 10 policy areas where the EU can
make a real difference – deliver concrete
results
Leave other policy areas to Member States
where they can act more effectively
An EU that is more ambitious on big things
and smaller and more modest on small things
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Better Regulation: A key priority
• Key tool to achieve policy goals in smarter and less
burdensome ways
• Change the way the Commission works:
• A new structure of the College
• Focus on limited set of key actions
• A new 'Better Regulation Package' (adoption scheduled for 19/5)
 A modernised approach for policy development and evaluation
 More transparency with increased stakeholder engagement
 Reinforced scrutiny and quality checking of impact assessments,
evaluations and 'fitness checks'
 Capacity strengthening of staff with new guidelines on planning,
impact assessments, evaluations and stakeholder consultations
 Strong emphasis on the 'REFIT' programme to make EU legislation
more efficient and effective, while reducing burden on business
 A proposal for a new 'Inter-institutional Agreement on Better
Law making' (with the European parliament and Council)
SG C
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Better Regulation throuhout the policy cycle
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Planning
Commission Work Programme 2015
Focus on 3 areas:
=>New initiatives – focus on 23 initiatives
• Linked to the 10 priorities of the Juncker Commission
=>Clearing the desks
• List of 80 ongoing initiatives for withdrawal or
modification
=>Ambitious Regulatory Fitness programme (REFIT)
• Cutting red tape
• Remove regulatory burden
SG C
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Policy impact assessments
Integrated approach
•
Links the problem, underlying drivers, the objectives and range of policy options
•
Assess all benefits and costs.
•
Economic, social and environmental impacts.
•
Analysis on EU added value and subsidiarity and proportionality principles
=> Scrutinized by the Impact Assessment Board
Wide scope
•
All initiatives with likely significant impacts, from policy proposals to implementing
measures
Transparency
•
Publication of Roadmaps, Impact Assessments and opinions of the board
•
Comprehensive stakeholder consultation
Impact Assessment Board becomes Regulatory Scrutiny Board
•
New composition, including external experts
•
Greater scrutiny and quality checking
•
Wider scope: Impact Assessments, Evaluations, Fitness Checks
SG C
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Evaluation
• Assess the actual performance of EU policy against initial
expectations: Does the policy work well?
• "Evaluate First Principle"
• More attention to broader areas of legislation and crosscutting issues (via Fitness Checks)
• An evidence-based judgement of the extent to which an
intervention has:
• been effective and efficient
• been relevant given the needs and its objectives
• been coherent internally and with other policies
• achieved EU added value
SG C
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Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme
("REFIT”)
• Central element in making EU policy more effective while
reducing burden
• Identify burdens, inconsistencies, gaps and ineffective
measures across acquis (‘Mapping’)
• Take action: withdraw, repeal, simplify, improve
• Assess: evaluations and Fitness Checks
• Consult: Involve Stakeholders
• Track Progress: Scoreboard
SG C
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Dialogue with Citizens and Stakeholders
 Citizens' Dialogues
•With Commissioners, style of town-hall debates across the EU
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-dialogues/
 The European Citizens' Initiative (ECI)
•Invites the Commission to propose legislation
•Requires 1 million signatories from 7 Member States
http://ec.europa.eu/citizens-initiative/public/welcome
Stakeholder Consultation
•At the heart of smart legislation throughout policy cycle
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Stakeholder Consultation
•
Wide scope: Treaty obligation to carry out broad consultations with
parties concerned before making a policy proposal.
•
Transparency and outreach: Listen openly to citizens and stakeholders,
explain what you do in each step of the policy cycle. Provide feedback on
received input.
•
Rules: General principles and minimum standards for consulting
external parties.
•
New in Better Regulation Package
=> strengthened consultation/feedback throughout policy cycle
=> define consultation strategy at the start of an initiatives
=> Public consultations obliged also for evaluations and fitness checks
=> one single access point for all consultations ‘your voice in Europe’
http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/consultations/index_en.htm
SG C
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Phase 1
Establish the Consultation Strategy
Define
consultation
objectives
Map
stakeholders
Determine
consultation
methods, tools
& timing
Create
consultation
webpage
Phase 2
Conduct Consultation Work
Announce &
communicate
Run consultation
Inform public on
contributions
Phase 3
Inform Policy Making
Summary of
consultation results
Analyse content
Quality assessment of the effectiveness of the consultation process
How do we respond?
• Acknowledgement and publication of responses to open
consultations
• Publication of summary results
• Discussion of results (incl. discarding of notable views) in
impact assessment reports
• Explanatory memorandum accompanying Commission
initiatives
• Commission Communication (following green paper)
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Strengthen capacity of staff
Better regulation needs to settle in the minds of all staff:
• New guidelines:
=> integraded guide covering all aspects of the policy
cycle: applicable universally to all policy areas
• New toolbox: offering concrete tools and methods for each
phase of of the policy cycle
• Training programme: general/specialised training open to
all staff
=> Guide the work of services to drive change and deliver
higher quality
SG C
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A shared Mission …
• EU Level - A new Inter-Institutional Agreement for Better
Lawmaking
• Member States – A national better regulation agenda
• Stakeholders – Active Involvement
SG C
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Further information
• Smart Regulation
• Roadmaps
http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/index_en.htm
http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/impact/planned_ia/planned_ia_en.htm
• Consultation – Principles and Minimum Standards
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=COM:2002:0704:FIN:EN:PDF
• Your Voice in Europe
http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/consultations/index_en.htm
• Transparency register
http://ec.europa.eu/transparencyregister/info/homePage.do?locale=en#en
• Commission at work – Notifications
https://sgregrip.cc.cec.eu.int:1062/notifications/homePage.do?locale=en#en
• Impact Assessment
http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/impact/index_en.htm
• Register of expert groups
http://ec.europa.eu/transparency/regexpert/index.cfm
• OECD – Regulatory Reform
http://www.oecd.org/regreform/regulatory-policy/
=> produced useful better regulation guidelines and analysis documents
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