EU Commission wants better legislation

The European Commission wants to modernize EU legislation and has presented proposals for five areas. The skilled trades sector wants clear and practical rules that do not disadvantage SMEs.

European legislation is to be implemented more clearly, simply, and efficiently. With legislation better aligned with the needs of citizens and businesses, the European Commission aims to strengthen economic competitiveness and the single market. The Commission has now presented a plan to achieve this.

“We are implementing our plan to make EU lawmaking more efficient, effective, and transparent. We will apply simplicity by design and continue to ensure that every rule is supported by strong evidence,” said Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. The aim is also to reduce overregulation and speed up enforcement.

The Commission intends to take action in five areas:

• Simplicity through design
  EU legislation should be easy to understand, apply, and enforce. The Commission wants to embed "simplicity through technical design" into every proposal to clarify who needs to take action, how to comply with the rules, and the consequences of non-compliance.
• Strengthening the framework for better regulation
  The Better Regulation system sets out the principles that the European Commission follows when preparing new initiatives. It will be further improved to enhance transparency, stakeholder engagement, and efficiency.
• Regulatory deep cleaning
  The EU also needs to bring order to its large body of existing legislation. An action plan is intended to address inconsistencies, overlapping and overly complex provisions in twelve priority areas.
• Combating regulatory overregulation
  The Commission wants to support Member States in identifying and eliminating unnecessary complexity and barriers to the internal market when they apply stricter or more comprehensive requirements than those laid down in EU law.
• Faster and more robust enforcement
  The Commission intends to strengthen the enforcement of the single market rules in selected policy areas. A key focus will also be on reducing the number of long-standing infringement proceedings.

"The skilled trades expect the upcoming announcement to provide clear and binding guidelines for better legislation, which includes: understandable and practical rules, mandatory SME tests and practical checks from the outset, and an alignment of all measures with the realities of small and medium-sized enterprises," demands Holger Schwannecke, Secretary General of the Central Association of German Skilled Trades.

Only in this way can laws that work in practice be created. The needs of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the skilled trades must be taken into account from the outset. Schwannecke: "Experience from recent years shows that the greatest burdens have often arisen from unnecessary complexity, excessive reporting requirements, and subsequent tightening of regulations."

You might also be interested in:

Operations management

Baden-Württemberg is raising the profile of skilled trades

Craft policy

Master craftsman bonus in Saxony increases to 3.000 euros

Operations management

Grid connection reforms: Trades see room for improvement

SME tests and practical checks must be carried out early and systematically. New regulations must be designed so that they can be implemented digitally, comprehensibly, and without unnecessary effort. "Crucially, they must be developed jointly with businesses and tested in real-world work situations. At the same time, a fundamental shift in approach is needed: less micromanagement, more trust."

DHB now also available digitally! Simply click here and register for the digital German Crafts Journal (DHB)!