The EUs Better Regulation Package Implementation of Impact Assessment

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The EUs Better Regulation Package
Implementation of Impact Assessment

• Manuel Santiago
• European Commission
• DG Enterprise Industry

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Better Regulation StrategyMain Objectives

• To simplify and improve the regulatory
  environment
• To promote a culture of dialogue and consultation
• To systematise impact assessment

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Main principles of the Better Regulation Strategy

• Effectiveness
• Stakeholder Involvement
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Proportionality

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Minimum Standards for Consultation specifies

• Consultation document should be clear and concise
  
• Target groups should be correctly identified
• Consultation should be widely published to reach
  target audiences
• There should be sufficient time for response
• Acknowledgement of contribution and appropriate
  feedback

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Impact Assessment
To improve quality and coherence of policy
proposals
To ensure co-ordination early on in the policy
design process.
To combine existing diverse and separate impact
assessments into single IA for all policy areas
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The Political Drivers
Sustainable Development Lisbon Growth and
Jobs Strategy
BETTER LAW MAKING
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What is Impact Assessment ?

• It provides a structure for designing new policy
  proposals
• It provides common sense questions to ask while
  formulating policies
• It helps politicians make decisions but is not a
  substitute for political judgement

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Main Principles

• Integration with the Commissions Planning cycle
  (SPP)
• Proportionate analysis - match efforts to
  significance of impacts
• Transparency - consult stakeholders and publish
  results

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The Impact Assessment ProcessMain elements

• Determine issue to be tackled
• Identify policy objectives
• Identify policy options and alternative
  instruments
• Examine subsidiarity
• Analyse the impacts and identify trade offs -
  main economic, environmental and social impacts
• Plan monitoring and evaluation

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The Impact Assessment ProcessMain elements

• Types of Impacts
• Economic
• Economic growth, competition, business costs,
  innovation, consumption
• Social
• Employment, health and safety, security,
  governance and rights
• Environmental
• Pollution, climate change, natural resources,
  biodiversity

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Coverage

• Proposals listed in Commissions Annual Policy
  Strategy or the Work Programme
• Can be either regulatory proposals such as
  Regulations and Directives or Policy proposals
• Must have a significant economic, environmental
  or social impact

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Included
Excluded

• Regulatory Proposals
• White Papers
• Expenditure Prgms
• Communications
• Negotiating Guidelines

• Green Papers
• Periodic Com- mission decisions
• Periodic Reports
• Technical updates
• Implementing decisions

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Internal organisation

• Lead Directorate-General
• Unit in charge of IA
• External expertise (e.g. public consultation, use
  of consultants)
• Quality control
• Secretariat-General
• Inter-service Steering Group
• Stakeholder input and scrutiny
• Impact Assessment Board