Better regulation agenda and instruments in the European Commission

The EU Better Regulation
Agenda: what’s new?
March 10, 20222
Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through OPTA 2014-2020

Contents
1. Why is the quality of regulation important?
2. How Regulation impacts citizens and business
3. The efforts of the European Commission
4. Better Regulation tools and decision making process
5. Better Regulation Package
6. Regulatory Impact Assessment in the EC: key steps
7.
What is new in the Commission's 2021 Better Regulation
Guidelines? Giove Michele
Senior Manager, EY
Key takeaways
Regulations are indispensable to the proper functioning of
economies and societies. They underpin markets, protect the
rights and safety of citizens and ensure the delivery of public goods
and services. At the same time, regulations are rarely costless.
10 March 2022 The EU Better Regulation Agenda: what’s new?
Page 2 Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through OPTA 2014-2020

Why is the quality of regulation important?
“The competitiveness and dynamism of businesses are directly
dependent on a regulatory climate conducive to investment, innovation,
and entrepreneurship. Further efforts are required to lower the costs of
doing business and remove unnecessary red tape, both of which are
particularly burdensome for SMEs. The European institutions, national
governments and regional and local authorities must continue to pay
particular attention to the impact and compliance costs of proposed
regulations, and should pursue their dialogue with business and citizens
with this aim in mind. Specific action is also needed to encourage the key
interfaces in innovation networks, i.e. interfaces between companies and
financial markets, R&D and training institutions, advisory services and
technological markets”
Lisbon European Council 23 And 24 March 2000
Presidency Conclusions
Page 3
AT
BE
BG
HR
CY
CZ
DK
EE
FI
FR
DE
HL HU
IE
IT
LV
LT
LU
MT
NL
PL
PT
RO
SK
SL ES
SW
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
65 70 75 80 85 90
Gross
domestic
product
per
capita
at
market
prices,
2020,
Eurostat
Ease of doing business score (DB17-20 methodology), World Bank
Easy of Doing Business vs GDP per capita
(EU-27, 2020)

How Regulation impacts citizens and business
Page 4
It is important to bear in mind that costs and
benefits are simply terms used to describe
impacts which affect social (and private)
welfare in different directions. A cost is any
item that makes someone worse-off, or
reduces a person’s well-being.A benefit is
any item that makes someone better-off, or
increases a person's well-being. Depending
upon the nature of the impact generating the
change in well-being, costs and benefits can
be direct or indirect

The efforts of the European Commission
Page 5 10 March 2022 The EU Better Regulation Agenda: what’s new? Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through OPTA 2014-2020

Better Regulation tools and decision making process
Page 7
Stakeholder
Consultation
Problem
identification
Setting priorities
Policy design
Improvement of the
decision making
process
Review
Regulatory
Agenda
Ex Post
Evaluation
Decision taking
Implementation,
monitoring and
maintenance
Regulatory
Impact
Assessment
Policy cycle
Policy or
regulatory
drafting
In itinere
evaluation, Fitness
Checks
Stakeholder
Consultation
Stakeholder
Consultation
Stakeholder
Consultation
Tools

Better regulation package
The better regulation package introduced in 2015 and updated in 2021 presented a strategy,
guidelines and a toolbox for the preparation of legislative proposals
• Strong emphasis on the stakeholder
consultation
• Attempts made to include ex-post
legislative evaluation into the policy cycle
• Regulatory oversight ensured by an
independent body (Regulatory Scrutiny
Board)
Page 8
• Domains where impact assessment is not
carried out or not done properly
• The extent to which impact assessment
really informs the development of the
proposals of the Commission
• methodological robustness and timing of
the ex-post evaluations
European Commission (2017b) ‘Overview of the Union’s Efforts to Simplify and Reduce Regulatory Burdens’, Staff working paper, SWD (2017) 675 final, Strasbourg, 24 October
European Court of Auditors (2018) ‘Ex-post Review of EU Legislation: A Well-established System, But Incomplete’. Special Report No.16/2018, Luxembourg, European Court of Auditors

Page 9
OECD Regulatory Policy Outlook 2021
*Indicators of Regulatory Policy and Governance (iREG)
Regulatory Impact Assessment: a benchmarking exercise

Regulatory Impact Assessment in the EC: key steps
Page 10
Problem definition Setting the Objectives Design of the Options
Assessment of the impacts
and selection of the preferred
option
Setting the monitoring and
governance arrangements

What is new in the Commission's 2021 Better Regulation Guidelines?
Page 11
One in One out principle Strategic foresight Integration of the existing
tools
Single call evidence principle
for stakeholder consultation
Enhanced transparency

Page 12
One in One out principle
Balance the overall level of administrative burdens (i.e.
costs resulting from administrative requirements contained
in legal acts, including delegated and implementing acts)
Objectives
Tool #56: typology of costs and benefits
Tool #57: different methods for estimating compliance costs
Tool #58: how to apply of the EU standard cost model
(SCM)
Tool #59: guidance on how to estimate costs and report
them for the purpose of 'one in, one out'.
Tools

Page 13
Generate more resilient and future-proof policies by
anticipating trends, risks and emerging issues
Objectives
A dedicated Competence Centre on Foresight, which was
established in 2018 within the Joint Research Centre to
provide advice on the use of different foresight
methodologies
Tool #69: Guidance on the use of regulatory sandboxes for
policy-making (i.e. framework set up by a regulator that
allows to conduct live experiments in a controlled
environment). One of the first Commission proposals
allowing for regulatory sandboxes is the proposed artificial
intelligence act unveiled in April 2021
Tools
Strategic foresight

Page 14
Integrate / improve :
• Gender Equality impact assessment
• UN sustainable development goals (SDGs)
contribution
• Digital impacts
• Monitoring
Objectives
Tool #29 : provides a new non-discrimination and equality
check-list
Tool #19: dedicated to SDGs
Tool #28: how to demonstrate that the digital by default
principle is taken into consideration
Introduction of “review clauses”
Tools
Integration of the existing
tools and rein

Page 15
Feedback on inception impact assessments, or roadmaps
for evaluations, and the public consultation can be
combined into a single 'call for evidence', published on the
Have your say web portal
Objectives
Fit for Future Platform helps the Commission to simplify
existing laws, reduce regulatory burdens, and ensure that
EU laws are fit for the future
Tools
Single call evidence principle
for stakeholder consultation
To achieve better communication and interaction with
stakeholders and the general public, the Commission has
started to streamline the consultation process

Page 16
All Commission documents related to a specific file are now
centrally published on the Have your say portal.
Externally contracted studies need to be published on the lead
directorate-general's website.
Models that substantially contribute to the policy options in
impact assessments must be documented in the Commission's
public modelling inventory and knowledge management system
(MIDAS) database.
Objectives
Tools
Enhanced transparency
The Commission is committed to improving its various evidence
registers and portals, as well as their access and interlinkages

“
The Commission already has one of the best Better
Regulation systems in the world but we still need to do more.
Therefore, we are stepping up efforts to simplify EU
legislation and reduce its burden, while making better use of
strategic foresight and supporting sustainability and
digitalisation. To succeed, however, all stakeholders must
work together on high-quality EU policymaking that will
translate into a stronger, more resilient Europe.
Maroš Šefčovič
Commissioner for Interinstitutional Relations and Foresight, responsible
for inter-institutional relations and better policy-making

Some useful links
• https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/planning-and-proposing-law/better-regulation-why-and-how_en
• https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/planning-and-proposing-law/better-regulation-why-and-
how/better-regulation-guidelines-and-toolbox_en
• https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say_en
• https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/evaluating-and-improving-existing-laws/refit-making-eu-law-
simpler-less-costly-and-future-proof/fit-future-platform-f4f_en
• https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/evaluating-and-improving-existing-laws/refit-making-eu-law-
simpler-less-costly-and-future-proof_en
• https://op.europa.eu/webpub/com/refit-scoreboard/en/index.html
• https://web.jrc.ec.europa.eu/policy-model-inventory/explore
• https://www.oecd.org/publications/better-regulation-practices-across-the-european-union-9789264311732-en.htm
• https://www.oecd.org/gov/regulatory-policy/oecd-regulatory-policy-outlook-2021-38b0fdb1-en.htm

Section divider over two lines or three lines
Thank you for your attention!
michele.giove@ro.ey.com
Page 20 Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund through OPTA 2014-2020

Better regulation agenda and instruments in the European Commission

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