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The Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better Lawmaking

The Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better Lawmaking was signed by the European Commission, the European Parliament and the Council in December 2003. It provides a framework for taking forward parts of the Better Regulation Action Plan which require co-operation between the Community institutions.

The agreement provides a framework for:

• The use of co-regulation and self regulation as alternatives to traditional legislation;
• The use of impact assessment in the European legislative process for significant Council and Parliament amendments
• Implementation of the Commission’s simplification programme;
• Greater attention to the Commission’s choice of legislative instrument.

Other elements are concerned with improved legislative planning and co-ordination, and better implementation of European law by the Member States.

The Agreement highlights the importance which all the Institutions attach to improving policy- making at European level. It is now vital that the Agreement is put into practice.

Relevant Links

Inter-Institutional Agreement on Better Lawmaking (PDF 47KB)
Commission Communication Action Plan for simplifying and improving the regulatory environment (PDF 95KB)
Commission’s simplification programme - European Commission’s web pages