Portugal is one of thirteen European Union member states that are calling for a systematic review of existing EU legislation. The aim is to simplify the rules, reduce the administrative burden, and give greater weight to the impact of legislation on innovation and competitiveness.
Austria is leading the initiative, which is also backed by the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia. The countries involved have signed a non-paper proposing a 'legislative deep-cleaning' exercise to assess which rules are still needed, which need updating, and which impose unnecessary burdens.
"EU legislation cannot be an end in itself."
The document argues that regulatory restraint is a prerequisite for sound EU law-making.
One of the key proposals is a year focused on implementation
One of the key proposals is a European Implementation and Consolidation Year. Rather than introducing new rules, the focus would be on:
- Implementing legislation already in force;
- Simplifying rules and strengthening interoperability;
- Assessing the cumulative burden of obligations on citizens and businesses;
- Ensuring more consistent enforcement across Member States;
- Removing duplicate reporting obligations.
Better regulation, not more regulation
The signatories argue that the European Union should only legislate where EU action is necessary and adds value, or where objectives cannot be sufficiently achieved at national level, in line with the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality set out in the Treaties.
The document also proposes that:
- New EU laws be systematically assessed for their impact on competitiveness;
- Any major new reporting or compliance obligation be preceded by a review of existing obligations in the same policy area, with a view to consolidating, simplifying or repealing them;
- New legislation include a mandatory review clause, at least every five years, to check whether it has met its objectives.
According to the signatories, legislation should be workable, predictable, coherent with other rules and evidence-based, while maintaining current levels of protection for health, safety and workers' rights.
An agenda aligned with digital-ready legislation
The initiative comes at a time when regulatory simplification has been high on the European agenda, with the European Commission putting forward several packages to simplify rules in areas ranging from artificial intelligence to climate.
The principles it champions, such as interoperability, reducing duplicate obligations and assessing impact before legislating, are in line with the Digital Ready Policymaking approach, which calls for legislation to be designed from the outset to be implemented digitally, simply and interoperably.
By joining this initiative, Portugal is reaffirming its commitment to a European Union with clearer, more coherent rules that make everyday life easier for citizens and businesses, and make the Single Market a more attractive place to invest and innovate.