The European Commission is putting the Commission's Regulatory Fitness and Performance programme (REFIT) into practice. Action is taken by REFIT to make EU law simpler, make the framework more regulatory and reduce costs.
After an investigation by REFIT, the European Commission have proposed simplification, withdrawals of pending proposals and repeals of existing legislation.
Member states are also responsible for these aims in implementing legislation in the simplest way. It is estimated up to 1/3 of administrative burden linked to EU legislation stems from national implementation measures.
Some of the action taken by the Commission involved a plan not to retable five bills, including one to extend maternity leave for pregnant workers. Bills on investor compensation schemes and a 12-year old plan to set up a compensation fund for the victims of oil pollution damage were also stopped.
The Commission says it has slashed the cost of administrative burdens by €32.3 billion and scrapped more than 6,000 legal acts since 2005.
President Barroso said regarding the use of REFIT: "The Commission is extending its smart regulation agenda. REFIT is important for economic growth and jobs in Europe. We want to facilitate the lives of our citizens and businesses by focusing EU law on those issues that are best dealt with at European level, while making it lighter, simpler and less costly. We are making good progress. But results do not come over night. Success demands continued efforts, clear political priorities and ownership by all EU institutions and in particular the Member States. It is crucially important to continue this work in the next legislature."
To read the announcement of these plans you can view the Commission staff working document.
