| Author (Person) | Bower, Helen | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Publisher | ProQuest Information and Learning | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Title | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Series Details | 7.6.02 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Publication Date | 07/06/2002 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Content Type | News, Overview, Topic Guide | In Focus | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Soon after presenting their proposals on the future of Europe to the European Convention, the European Commission proposed another set of key initiatives [COM(2002)277 final] on 5 June 2002, this time aimed at improving the openness and efficiency of the EU's institutions. The proposals promise to be the first in a series of initiatives by the European Commission designed to fulfil the commitments of the White Paper on European Governance, September 2001. Background The White Paper on European Governance, adopted by the European Commission on 25 July 2001, was drawn up in response to the perception that the European Union is often remote yet at the same time too intrusive. The White Paper sought to re-examine the European Union's working methods in the light of enlargement, the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) due to be convened in 2004, and the political pressure for reform prompted by the enforced resignation of the European Commission in 1999. An earlier European Sources Online
The launch of the White Paper kick-started a wide-ranging and thorough debate on European governance and the European Commission received some 259 reactions to the White Paper before the public consultation period ended on 31 March 2002. The European Commission is now in the process of compiling a report about these responses. Work was already being undertaken to examine how the second goal, that of "better regulation" could be achieved. A high-level advisory group, chaired by Dieudonné Mandelkern was established in November 2000, following agreement at a meeting in Strasbourg of EU Ministers of Public Administration to further consider the development of better regulation. The group was charged with producing an initial report within four months and a final report within a year. The Mandelkern Group, as it became known, was made up of representatives of the fifteen Member States. Officials from the Commission's Secretariat-General also attended. An interim report was finalised at the end of February 2001 and considered by the Heads of State and Government at the Spring European Council in Stockholm. The Group's final report was finished in November 2001 and was tabled at the Internal Market Council on 26 November 2001. The Final Report highlights the need for better regulation throughout the European Union citing studies which suggest that the burden of EU regulation costs between 2% and 5% of Europe's GDP. The report states,
The report proposes an Action Plan with deadlines, the implementation of which would contribute significantly to improving the regulatory environment. It describes a comprehensive overall approach with a set of seven core principles: necessity, proportionality, subsidiarity, transparency, accountability, accessibility and simplicity. It looks at best practice in seven key areas applicable at both national and EU level and suggests how they might be applied, whilst avoiding infringing on the competencies of the respective authorities. The seven key areas are:
In response to the report, the European Commission adopted on 6 December 2001 a Communication [COM(2002)726] on simplifying and improving the regulatory environment identifying the goal of reducing the volume of Community legislation by at least 25% before the end of its term of office. The European Commission also decided to withdraw a hundred or so pending legislative proposals which it did not regard as being of topical interest. Coming ahead of the Laeken European Council, the Communication was designed to send a strong political message to the Community institutions and the Member States about the way Community laws and regulatory instruments are prepared and applied. Indeed the issue was raised at the Laeken European Council in December 2001 and the EU leaders welcomed the Mandelkern report and suggested that a practical plan of action should be developed in the first half of 2002. At the Barcelona European Council in March 2002, the European Council reiterated the need for action, calling on the European Commission to submit ahead of the European Council in Seville in June 2002 an Action Plan on improving the regulatory environment. Initiatives to improve consultation and accountability It is in this context that Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, presented the first set of initiatives [COM(2002)277 final] on 5 June 2002. The proposals make considerable use of both the responses to the White Paper on European Governance and the Mandelkern final report. The initiatives aim to improve the way in which legislation and policies are prepared and implemented throughout the EU by:
The proposals will now go before the European Council in Seville in June 2002 when Romano Prodi hopes that the institutions will,
Speaking about the proposals to a conference of Presidents of the European Parliament, Romano Prodi also emphasised the importance of the initiatives, saying
The President of the European Commission also recognised that the "plan cannot be fully implemented unless there is agreement between the institutions". To trace the full progress of the proposal through the policy-making process you can use these services:
The success of the initiatives will now depend on the response from EU leaders at Seville when the reform of the Council of the Ministers is also on the agenda. In the meantime the European Commission has promised to improve the way it exercises its right of initiative so it is more effective and transparent as well as developing a second set of measures to increase accountability in the exercise of executive tasks which should be adopted by Autumn 2001. Further information within European Sources Online:
Further information can be seen in these external links: EU Institutions Further and subsequent information on the subject of this In Focus can be found by an 'Advanced Search' in European Sources Online by inserting 'policy-making' or 'decision-making' in the keyword field. Helen Bower Soon after presenting their proposals on the future of Europe to the European Convention, the European Commission proposed another set of key initiatives [COM(2002)277 final] on 5 June 2002, this time aimed at improving the openness and efficiency of the EU's institutions. The proposals promise to be the first in a series of initiatives by the European Commission designed to fulfil the commitments of the White Paper on European Governance. |
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| Subject Categories | Politics and International Relations | |||||||||||||||||||||
