EU Proposals

Groundwork

You should have started working on an initial RIA as soon as you become aware of any action the Commission is considering. Information from your RIA can be fed into the Commission to influence its thinking.

What the Commission is doing

In its Better Regulation Action Plan, adopted in June 2002, the Commission committed itself to the following key measures:

• The introduction of a two-stage impact assessment process, covering the economic, social and environmental impacts of policy proposals – to be implemented gradually from start 2003, with a view to being fully operational in 2004/2005.
  
• Impact assessment will be applied to all proposals listed in the Annual Policy Strategy or Work Programme. All proposals will be subject to a preliminary assessment, with some proposals being selected for extended assessment.
  
• A commitment to establishing and adhering to minimum standards for consultation to improve the openness and transparency of the policy making process from start 2003, including a commitment to an inclusive approach, to acknowledging responses, ensuring feedback and a minimum period for consultations of eight weeks.

All Directorates within the Commission are signed up to the Action Plan. However, since this is a new initiative, it will take time to become embedded in the Commission’s working practices. The support and assistance of UK policy officials will be key to promoting and delivering on this agenda, which is a priority for the UK.

Suggestions for what you can do

• The Commission is committed to producing preliminary impact assessments for all proposals presented from start 2004. However, for reasons of good practice, it should be encouraged to carry out impact assessments for all proposals adopted during 2003.
  
• You should check that proposals identified as significant in the Annual Work Programmes for 2003 [PDF - 123.9KB] and 2004 [PDF - 218KB] are accompanied by an extended impact assessment [Word - 25KB] when they are published.
  
  (One of the issues not yet clarified, at the time of writing, is the basis on which the Commission will select the proposals for extended assessment. However, there is no harm in challenging the Commission’s views on this and asking for an extended impact assessment for any measure if we think it is warranted)
• You should be prepared to contribute the UK data on the likely impact of the proposal if requested to do so by the Commission. This information should already be available from preparing the UK RIA.
  
• You should check that consultation has been conducted (at least) according to the minimum standards established by the Commission, and that the results of the consultation are reflected in the Explanatory Memoranda accompanying the proposal.
  
• Encourage other Member States and external stakeholders to influence the Commission to produce well-assessed proposals, based on effective consultation.

The Commission’s impact assessments will cover impacts across the European Union. You will still need to produce a UK RIA in connection with European proposals, in order to assess UK-specific impacts in more detail. The information you produce for UK use may feed into the Commission’s impact assessment.

top