The European Commission says member countries and lawmakers are slowing down its mission to cut red tape.
Marianne Gros
There are too many instances “where we see many of the substantial European Commission proposals for simplification being rolled back by co-legislators,” Simplification Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told lawmakers during a European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday. “Then, of course, we will not achieve our simplification targets there.”
Meanwhile, 250 kilometers away in Luxembourg, Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath was relaying similar worries to Europe ministers, saying the executive is “concerned that the simplification ambition is often reduced” during negotiations.
The Commission has promised to cut red tape for businesses by 25 percent and save the EU economy €37.7 billion a year in annual administrative costs by 2029. So far, it has presented 10 simplification packages — also called ‘omnibus’ bills — reviewing laws on everything from defense and industrial permitting to agriculture and car safety, with three more proposals expected by the end of the year.
The bills could save businesses €15 billion in costs, the Commission estimates.
But a year and a half into the effort, the level of ambition on simplification is going “substantially down,” warned Dombrovskis.
Both Dombrovskis and McGrath listed ongoing talks on the Commission’s proposals to roll back laws on chemicals, digital, environmental and pesticides rules as particularly problematic.
