On 19 May the European Commission adopted the Better Regulation (BR) Agenda to boost openness and transparency in the EU decision-making process and to deliver tangible economic, social and environmental benefits for both citizens and businesses.
Better Regulation covers the whole policy cycle – policy design and preparation, adoption; implementation (transposition, complementary non-regulatory actions), application (including enforcement), evaluation and revision. The need to combine optimally regulatory and well-designed non-regulatory means is fully acknowledged in the different tiers of the BR package, i.e. the Communication (see p. 6), the Guidelines (see pp.23, 41) , and the Toolbox (see Tool #15). If self- and co-regulation continues to be considered as one of the options at the impact assessment level of the policy cycle, it is now also considered at the implementation phase showing the complementarity between regulatory and non-regulatory means, rather than their supposed exclusive opposition. Indeed, principle-based legislation requires well-designed complementary non-regulatory actions to deliver effectively on its goals. In this new better regulation landscape, the Principles for better self- and co-regulation are endorsed as benchmarks for the good practice of Self-Regulation/Co-Regulation. Join the next plenary meeting on June 12 and take part in this new better regulation dynamics!