BRUSSELS: The European Union executive will present proposals to streamline how EU law is made, in a bid to defuse growing hostility from voters and complaints from business about regulatory red tape.
A draft seen by Reuters of a plan from European Commission deputy head Frans Timmermans suggests making the European Parliament and member states carry out more cost-benefit analysis of amendments they want to make to the executive’s legislative proposals.
In a clause aimed at limiting what EU officials see as a tendency for governments to blame Brussels for unpopular measures decided in national capitals, it also calls on member states to make clear to their electorates which elements of laws have been decided at EU level and which are national choices.
A further aspect is applying “sunset clauses” and systematic reviews under which outdated legislation would be scrapped.
The Better Regulations proposals, which require approval by parliament and the European Council of national leaders, are the latest move from the Commission, headed since November by Jean-Claude Juncker, to respond to a surge in support for anti-EU parties at the European Parliament elections a year ago.
They may also play a role in efforts to convince re-elected British Prime Minister David Cameron that the EU is responding to demands from London for EU reform before he puts Britain’s continued membership to a referendum by 2017.
