HISTORIC PRESS RELEASE : Advancing Regulatory Reform in Europe [December 2004]

The press release issued by HM Treasury on 8 December 2004.

Better regulation holds the key to jobs and growth in Europe, according to a new joint statement on regulatory reform agreed yesterday. The statement was signed by the Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, and the Finance and Economics Ministers of Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria and Finland.

The joint statement, endorsed by the six consecutive Presidencies of the European Union during 2004, 2005 and 2006, highlights the important advances made in reforming EU regulation since the launch of the original Four Presidency statement in January of this year. It presents further concrete proposals to reduce the economic burden of EU regulation.

The joint statement, Advancing regulatory reform in Europe, notes both the EU’s achievements over the past year, and the challenges that lie ahead if Europe is genuinely to put in place a world-class regulatory framework. In particular, it calls for further action to:

• reduce the administrative burden associated with EU regulation, with regulatory impact assessments to measure and explain administrative costs by the end of 2005;
• ensure that new regulations are effectively scrutinised for their impact on competitiveness, with a cross-cutting role for the EU’s Competitiveness Council of Ministers;
• tackle economic burdens in the stock of existing EU law, with further action taken in 2005 to identify priority areas for simplification;
• establish clear and measurable objectives and goals for monitoring and controlling the economic and administrative burden of EU law;
• strengthen business input into the regulatory process, for example through a new standing business taskforce to advise on reform and report annually to the EU institutions;
• develop new arrangements for formal external audit and quality control of EU regulatory impact assessments;
• enhance pre-legislative consultation, including through greater use of Green and White Papers; and
• ensure non-legislative options get stronger consideration in EU policy discussions.

The statement builds on the announcements in last week’s Pre-Budget Report on changes to relieve regulatory burdens on businesses in the UK, including the interim report of the Hampton Review, the extension of common commencement dates, and systematic post-implementation reviews.