21st May 2015

Good Governance: EC`s Better Regulation Agenda to open up legislative process

On 19 May 2015 the European Commission adopted its Better Regulation Agenda, a package of reforms allowing for higher transparency of the decision-making process, public scrutiny and consultation.

"The Commission will open up its policy making process to further public scrutiny and input, with a web portal where initiatives can be tracked and new public consultations when we are evaluating existing policies or assessing possible new proposals. There will also be new opportunities for stakeholder comments throughout the entire policy lifecycle, from the initial Roadmap to the final Commission proposal. After the Commission has adopted a proposal, any citizen or stakeholder will have 8 weeks to provide feedback or suggestions which will feed into the legislative debate before Parliament and Council.This transparent approach will also apply to secondary legislation, in the form of delegated and implementing acts. For the first time, draft measures which amend or supplement existing legislation, or which set out specific technical provisions, will be made public for 4 weeks before adoption. This will allow for stakeholder comments prior to their adoption by the Commission or Member State experts."

The Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT), which assesses the existing stock of EU legislation to make it more effective and efficient without compromising policy objectives, will be strengthened.

The Commission will now enter negotiations with the Parliament and Council over a new Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA) on Better Law-making.

To read more, click here.

Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic