In June 2002, the European Commission issued a series of Communications on how to improve and simplify European legislation and enhance consultation with stakeholders. These principles have been developed in the context of the sustainable development approach and the “Lisbon strategy” for growth and competitiveness in the EU. In particular, better regulation calls for the use of regulatory impact assessment (RIA) in order to analyse the various policy objectives (e.g. free circulation of goods, environment protection, etc.) and the most appropriate policy instruments (e.g. regulation, voluntary agreements, standardisation, etc.) that are available to meet these objectives.

 
OTHER ISSUES
 
TOOLBOX

 

 

 

Orgalime has broadly supported these principles and further application guidelines under the co-ordination of the Secretariat General of the European Commission. While we have welcomed the various supportive statements of the Council of the EU (on competitiveness) and of the European Parliament, we strive to provide constructive comments and guidance to the EC desk officers, which may fail to see the need for inter-service co-ordination, use of impact assessment in the broadest sense (e.g. beyond a “business impact assessment”), and fair consultation of stakeholders. We also believe that a general, competent and independent use of impact assessment could help policy makers to make more balanced and proportionate decisions, especially in the face of scientific uncertainty, when the precautionary principle is invoked.