The role of parliaments in regulatory policy

• Author: Anglmayer, Irmgard
• Pages: 1-12

EPRS | European Parli amentary Re searchService

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1.The role of parliaments in regulatory policy

1.1.Better Regulatio nin Eur ope : only a government matter?

Regulatory policy covers th e methods and processes for preparing, implementing and rev iewing

laws and r egulatio ns. It aims to ensure that regulation achieves its intended p olicy object ives at

minimum cost. R egula tory policy – or 'Better Regulation' or 'Better Law-Making', a s it is co mmonly

referred t o at the EU level and in s ome EU Member States – sets out anumber o f key principles, in

particular thatlawand p olicy-makingare:

open and transparent;

backed by th e comprehens ive involvement of stakeholders;

and informed by a so und evidence base. 4

The sound evidence bas e is the most important fact or in the context of this study, and in particular

the set of tools that helps inform t he policy -making pr ocess wit h evidenceand analysis. Thre e tools

mainlyrender Better Regu lation 'the means to deliver evidence-based policy-making',5namely:

ex-ante impact assessment (also referred to as RIA in s ome co untries );

ex-post evaluation;

and involvement of the public and stakeholders through consultation.

The focus of this study lies clearly on impact assessment and evaluation; stakeholder involvement is

touched upon only m arg inally.

1.1.1.Shaping Better Regulation in Europe: the European Commission

The European Commission's Better Regulation policy has emerged since the early 2000s a nd

gra dually ev olved int o its curr ent format. It was part icularlyhigh on the agendain the Juncker

Comm ission (2014-2019), which is symbolised by the fact that the firs t Vice-President – wh o even

bore Better Regulation in his job title – was in charge of driving the Better Regulation reform

agenda.6 Today, the EU's Better Reg ulation frameworkis sa id to r ank among thebest performingin

Europe,7and it continues to be a central featureof EU policy-making under the n ew Commission

President Urs ula von der Leyen.8

Further to applying Better Regula tion principle s and proce sses in its o wn law- and po licy-ma king,

the C ommis sion encourages alsotheother EU inst itutions and t he EU Member States to do likewise.9

Alrea dy in 2005, the Com missio nrecommended tha t Member Statesestablishtheir own na t ional

Better Regulation strategiesand, in particular, that they roll ou t impa ct as sessm ent t ha t wo uld in

scope resem ble the European Commission's.10In a similar ve in,academic research argues that, for

Better Regulation to be successful in the EU's multi-level governance system, the EU's Be tter

4European Commission, Better regulation guidelines, update 2017, SWD (2017) 350, p. 4.

5Ben Smulders and Jean-Eri c Paque t, 'The European Commission and it s Bette r Regul ation Agenda', in Sacha Garben and

Inge Govaere (eds.), The EU BetterRegulation Agenda: A critical a ssessment, Hart 2018, p. 102.

6First Vice-Pr esident Frans Ti mmer mans was in charge of 'Better Regulation, inter-institutional relati ons, the rule of law

and the Charter of Fundament al Rights'.

7OECD, Regulatory policy outlook 2018.

8European Commission, Commission work programme 2020: A Union that strives for more, COM(2020) 37, p. 9.

9European Commission, Better regulation for better results - An EU agenda, 2015, COM(2015) 215, p. 4 .

10European Commission, Be tter Regulati on for Growth and Jobs in t he European Union, 2005, COM(2005) 97, p.8.