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Repercussions of the European Commission’s Better Regulation Agenda on Consumer Interests and Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Ursula Pachl
Ursula Pachl*
Affiliation:
BEUC
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Extract

On the face of it, ‘better regulation’ sounds like a concept that no one could object to. But in contrast to past attempts to cut red tape for business and thus reduce unnecessary bureaucracy, the objective of the Juncker Commission's Better Regulation Agenda is to reduce “regulatory burden”.

The package, adopted on May 9th 2015, foresees the establishment of an impressive apparatus and toolbox for implementing the Agenda. Existing structures and procedures, such as the Regulatory Scrutiny Board and the Impact Assessment Guidelines, are being modified, and new elements such as the two REFIT Platforms, one for stakeholders and one for Member States, and the new Interinstitutional Agreement on better law-making, will be introduced.

The Agenda raises many questions and concerns From the perspective of a public interest organisation such as The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC). Several aspects of this new institutional and procedural architecture suggest that it is not designed to provide society–wide benefits by generating better regulation for all. Rhetoric about the need to reduce costs is the dominant theme throughout the entire package, framed by the ‘jobs and growth’ narrative.

Type
Special Issue on the Better Regulation Package
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 6 , Issue 3 , September 2015 , pp. 375 - 377
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015

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References

1 See for example: European Commission “Better regulation guidelines”, Commission staff working document) SWD (2015) 111 final, 19 May 2015, introduction; “Better regulation for better results – An EU agenda”, (Communication) COM (2015) 215 final, 19 May 2015 p. 3

2 http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/better_regulation/key_docs_en.htm

3 Title of the European Commission's public consultation “Lighten the burden – Have your say !” with which suggestions about how to make EU law more effective and efficient will be examined by the Commission and may be used to identify actions for simplification and burden reduction within the REFIT programme , http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/refit/simplification/consultation/consultation_en.htm

4 European Commission (Communication) “Proposal for an interinstitutional agreement on better regulation”, COM (2015) 216 final, 19 May 2015, p 5

5 European Commission (Communication) “Proposal for an interinstitutional agreement on better regulation”, COM (2015) 216 final, 19 May 2015, p 7

6 European Commission “Better regulation for better results – An EU agenda”, (Communication) COM (2015) 215 final, 19 May 2015 p. 4

7 See http://www.betterregwatch.eu