Better regulation should reduce bureaucracy

The European Commission aims to improve legislation and has proposed various measures to this end. The skilled trades sector welcomes this and hopes for swift action from the Commission.

This article is part of the special feature on bureaucratic madness in the skilled trades.

Ecological transformation, digital transformation, and the post-pandemic restart: from the European Commission 's perspective , these are important reasons to improve European legislation , not least to spare businesses excessive bureaucracy . The best possible policymaking is the goal of all EU institutions, member states, and local and regional authorities. Laws at the European level should be as easy to understand and comply with as possible. To this end, the Commission has now published a communication proposing various measures to improve the legislative process.

The centerpiece of the planned measures is the introduction of a " one-in-one-out principle ," designed to ensure that impact assessments for businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, and citizens yield better results . New burdens are to be offset by reducing existing burdens elsewhere. In practice, this principle aims to ensure that legislators are more aware of the consequences of their legislation . At the same time, it should at least prevent the implementation effort from increasing and ideally reduce it.

Eliminate obstacles and bureaucracy

The Commission, in consultation with Member States, regions, and stakeholders, aims to eliminate obstacles and bureaucracy that slow down investment in and development of infrastructure. It also intends to simplify consultations, which it uses to gather public opinion, and plans to introduce a single "gathering of insights" process. To this end, it plans to improve the online portal " Your Opinion Counts ." Even before legislative processes begin, a " strategic foresight in policymaking " will ensure that regulations are future-proof and take into account global trends in the environmental, digital, geopolitical, and socio-economic contexts.

The overarching goal of improved legislation is to promote sustainability and digitalization . During consultations, the Commission intends to explicitly inquire about environmental and digital aspects and expand impact assessments accordingly. Evaluations of existing laws should specifically focus on how environmental impacts can be minimized and digitalization accelerated. These aspects must be incorporated into the justification for legislative proposals . Furthermore, the EU Commission plans to identify the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals for each legislative proposal and examine the extent to which its implementation can contribute to achieving these goals.

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Paradigm shift in policy-making

"The recovery from the pandemic will bring paradigm shifts in policymaking and investments on an unprecedented scale , shaping the world for the next generation," the Commission promises. "Therefore, all our legislative proposals should draw on the best available knowledge, be future-proof , and minimize the burden on citizens and businesses." According to the Commission, some measures are already being implemented, while others are expected to be implemented in the coming months.

"Every further development of the European agenda for better regulation is a step in the right direction ," explains Holger Schwannecke . The comprehensive information, documentation, and reporting obligations for companies urgently need to be reduced and simplified so that they can concentrate on their core business, especially during the current crisis, says the Secretary General of the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts . "The new 'on-in-one-out' concept and generally better coordination between the various legislative initiatives can help ensure that the ' SME priority ' principle is actually implemented."

"Announcements must be followed by actions"

Schwannecke emphasizes that a sustainable upswing can only be achieved in partnership with the skilled trades. "But this also requires the right framework . Initiatives and regulatory proposals must be designed in such a way that businesses can actually implement the requirements." He welcomes the EU Commission's intention to take action in this area, but announcements must be followed by concrete action. "Bureaucracy must be reduced in a targeted and tangible way . Further efforts are needed to consistently apply and monitor the SME test, which has been mandatory for years." Quality and feasibility must be paramount in any new legislation.