About: Better Regulation

Restoring trust and effectiveness in EU scientific advice

Today, more than ever, EU regulators must ensure that risk management decisions meet public demands for high standards of protection whilst simultaneously stimulating competitiveness and prosperity in Europe. Basing decisions on the best available science is the pre-condition for achieving these goals, argues Dirk Hüdig.

President Juncker, help us say no to fake goods!

Today, on World Anti-Counterfeiting Day, Alain Galaski calls on the Commission to act more decisively against counterfeiting.

Commission readies new parental leave rules to replace axed maternity bill

Two years after the European Commission scrapped its own proposal for new EU maternity leave rules, the EU executive is getting ready to replace it with new measures, including some focused on getting more fathers to take leave.

Chemical safety in the workplace: An example of better regulation ?

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has vowed to make “Better Regulation” the cornerstone of policymaking in the EU, promising lean and efficient legislation that encourages business activity without compromising on health and environmental priorities.

Juncker: This Commission no longer regulates the flushing of toilets

Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said on Thursday (23 February) that he “fought like a lion” against “ill-inspired Commissioners” who thought the EU should regulate the flushing of toilets. He also indicated that he will push for a multi-speed Europe in proposals to be unveiled next month.

Natura 2000 must manage cash better, warn EU Auditors

The EU’s flagship biodiversity programme, Natura 2000, needs more money and better management, the European Court of Auditors has warned.

Better Regulation: Are laws aligning?

We are halfway through this European Parliament’s mandate and, as ever, many laws have been voted, with many more to come. But will they be effectively introduced at the national level in the area of health? Denis Horgan asks.

MEPs bolster EU recycling and landfill targets

Members of the European Parliament’s Environment Committee yesterday (24 January) moved to increase draft EU recycling and landfill targets that had been lowered by the European Commission in its re-tabled Circular Economy Package.

Nature laws saved by the people: An antidote to Europe’s crisis?

Environmental NGOs won a big campaign opposing the European Commission’s attempt to weaken the EU Nature Directives. This positive outcome may provide part of the answer to Europe's search for a new narrative, write Geneviève Pons and Andreas Baumüller.

EU decides against tinkering with flagship nature directives

After undergoing a much-criticised European Commission-helmed ‘fitness check’, the EU’s main nature directives have been ruled fit for purpose and will not be rewritten or weakened, in a huge win for environmentalists.

The Scientific Advice Mechanism – Is it better regulation?

Ultimately, the system of scientific advice should be systemic, synced to political timeframes, and have a say not only in policy proposals but on political agenda setting. Philip Hines talks us through the Commission’s Scientific Advise Mechanism.

Germany wants to scrap EU recycling targets

EXCLUSIVE / Germany, the EU’s most influential country and its leading recycler, has called for recycling targets in the European Commission’s Circular Economy package of green laws to be scrapped.

Dutch finance minister perplexed by EU budget rules

Dutch Finance Minister and Chairman of the Eurogroup Jeroen Dijsselbloem has lashed out at the complexity of EU budget law and called for it to be simplified. EurActiv Spain reports.

Commission research shows Nature Directives don’t need ‘better regulation’

EXCLUSIVE/ EU rules to protect birdlife and habitats – under threat from a review driven by the European Commission’s ‘better regulation’ strategy - are fit for purpose, according to leaked research that fuelled demands to leave the laws alone.

Commission’s axing of Circular Economy Package ‘stalled’ green policies across EU

EXCLUSIVE / The European Commission was accused last night of stalling national waste and recycling policies across the EU, after it emerged that only two countries have dedicated circular economy strategies.

SMEs warn of ‘REACH leakage’ ahead of EU chemical review

A review of Europe’s REACH chemicals safety law, due in 2017, will look into the “cumulative costs” of the legislation on industry and small businesses in particular, according to a senior official at the European Commission.

Commission adopts new rules in wake of Costa Concordia disaster

The European Commission has adopted a series of legal proposals aimed at simplifying and modifying the security framework for passenger boats in EU waters. EURACTIV Spain reports.

Timmermans: We must convince Europe the era of meddlesome EU rules is over

The European Commission must convince people and businesses that the era of meddlesome EU regulation is over, Commission First Vice-President Frans Timmermans admitted today (26 May), before warning that would take "some time".

What would Brexit mean for the environment?

With only a month to go before the UK referendum, a narrow range of issues has dominated the debate, leaving many others, including working conditions, international development and the environment firmly in the shadows, write Viviane Gravey and Andrew Jordan.

Commission fails ‘Better Regulation’ test on Circular Economy Package

Better regulation, rather than providing better protection has served as an entry point for some business lobby groups to delay and weaken one of Europe’s major environmental policies, writes Magda Stoczkiewicz.

REACH ‘monster’ will devour EU innovation, chemical industry warns

Chemical industry lobbyists have stepped up their criticism of Europe’s REACH chemical safety regulation, branding the law “a monster” that “will devour” the industry’s ability to innovate.

EU conservation law ‘modernisation’ may weaken protections

European Commission President Juncker wants EU laws on nature conservation modernised. But environmental activists have warned against weakening the current legislation. EURACTIV Germany reports.

Commission vows tough enforcement of Circular Economy Package

The Circular Economy package of waste and recycling laws will be backed by more rigorous European Commission enforcement than previously seen, an official yesterday (5 April) told plastic industry delegates.