Better regulation for a more resilient Europe - a BusinessEurope position paper

A response to the Commission communication 'Better Regulation: joining forces to make better laws'

BusinessEurope welcomes further actions to strengthen and improve the better regulation framework in the EU, presented in the European Commission communication of 29 April 2021.
We strongly support the Commission’s renewed call on the European Parliament and the Council to fully implement the Inter-institutional Agreement on Better Law-making.
Details on practical application of the proposed “1in-1out” principle, however, fall short of business expectations and of the political commitments made by the European Commission both in terms of the timeline and substance as defined; this principle should be further developed and applied without delay. In addition, its success can only be warranted by close cooperation between the Commission, the European Parliament and Member States.
Cooperation and transparency on transposition of the EU directives at national level to address ‘gold-plating’ are key to maintain the credibility of the 1in-1out principle at the EU level.
The better regulation principles and tools should remain policy-neutral to guarantee an objective problem definition and real alternative policy options to be considered by the European Commission, the Council and the European Parliament. They should aid in making informed decisions, not merely justifying the preferred political choices.