Monitoring the application of Community law (2003-2004) - Better lawmaking 2004: application of the principle of subsidiarity - The implementation consequences and impact of the internal market legislation in force - Strategy for the simplification of the regulatory environment

Speech by Liz Lynne on Tue 4th Apr 2006

Madam President, I have been campaigning for many years for better lawmaking, particularly in my committee, the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs. We need better and more comprehensive impact assessment and we need to look at whether legislation is really needed at EU level, or best left up to Member States in many instances. If it is needed, we need to have a proper cost-benefit analysis of businesses, including small businesses, and the workforce alike. I would like to see the impact assessments being truly independent, better than what we have quite often at the moment: a justification for the need for legislation.

Once legislation has been passed, it has to be implemented equally, as we have all been saying, across all Member States. If it is not being implemented, is it because it is unworkable? If it is unworkable, then, as the Commission has said, repeal it.

Finally, we need to make sure the interinstitutional agreement on better lawmaking is complied with. In a reply just the other day, the Commission admitted that little progress had been made.