Publications

The White Paper on the Future of Europe has stimulated a deep process of reflection about the Europe we need. This will culminate in the Leaders’ summit in Sibiu in May 2019. The work of this Task Force should be seen as part of this broader discussion and I hope our report and its recommendations will find their place in the ongoing reflections. The Treaties do not give the EU’s institutions a blank cheque to do what they want. Subsidiarity and proportionality are the practical tools to ensure that the Union does not do what the Member States or regional and local authorities can better do themselves and to focus the Union’s actions on where it can really add value. We need both principles and we need to apply them actively, collectively and in the same spirit if they are to work as our citizens expect them to do. Today, we have 41 national Parliament chambers, 74 regional legislative assemblies, around 280 regions, and 80 000 local authorities. They are all engaged directly in applying the Union’s policies on the ground. Their concerns and practical experience should be heard more systematically if we want policies that work Foreword from the Chair of the Task Force while respecting the character and identity of our nations, regions and localities. I hope that providing a more meaningful say in how things are done will also allow our national Parliaments and local and regional authorities to be more effective ambassadors and advocates of the European Union. Finally, this report – a collective effort by the European Committee of the Regions, members of the national Parliaments, and the European Commission – is not an end in itself. It is the start of a process to open up our procedures more to the local and regional level and to make the Union’s legislation work better for its citizens. While this report is addressed to President Juncker, the European Parliament, Council, European Committee of the Regions, European Economic and Social Committee, the national Parliaments, regional Parliaments, and local and regional authorities all have a responsibility to consider in responding to the Task Force’s report. Frans Timmermans, Chairman of the Task Force on Subsidiarity, Proportionality and “Doing Less More Efficiently” Brussels, 10 July 2018.

How regulations are implemented and enforced, and how compliance is ensured and promoted, are critical determinants of whether a regulatory system is working as intended. Inspections are one of the most important ways to enforce regulations and to ensure regulatory compliance. Based on the 2014 OECD Best Practice Principles for Regulatory Enforcement and Inspection, this Toolkit offers government officials, regulators, stakeholders and experts a simple tool for assessing the inspection and enforcement system in a given jurisdiction, institution or structure. Its checklist of 12 criteria can be used to identify strengths and weaknesses, gauge actual performance, and pinpoint areas for improvement.

This report summarises the results of the study ‘Assessing the impacts of EU regulatory barriers on innovation’. To obtain the necessary data, a European-wide survey was conducted in 2016. This study focused on four sectors: energy, food, health and water. Each of these four sectors addressed the innovation system and regulatory framework, alongside questions on challenges, innovation drivers and barriers. While regulatory barriers to innovation were identified for the whole economy as well as within the four sectoral studies, the overall impact of regulation on innovation is predominantly neutral to positive. The main regulatory barrier identified concerns ‘conflicting regulation’ rather than a single type of regulation. The study also found that compliance with regulation creates innovation, with a net gain of EUR 3-6 billion per year in additional innovation investments and in terms of employment a net gain of 120 000 additional jobs. Removing existing regulatory barriers could release up to EUR 4-8 billion on general innovation investment per year.

Why should regulators be independent? How is it possible to reduce the gap between de iure and de facto independence? This OECD guidance addresses this topic by analysing the five dimensions in which the “culture of independence” should spread: role clarity and responsibility, transparency and accountability, financial independence, independence of leadership, and staff behaviour (Maria Bianca Armiento, Rassegna Osservatorio Air, n. 4/2019).