Recommendations to the Danish Presidency of the Council of the European Union

Published by AmCham EU.

How to deliver competitiveness through regulatory simplification

For American businesses in Europe, simplification is an opportunity to realign EU legislation with the foundational principles of only acting at EU-level when it brings clear value and ensuring rules are limited to what is necessary. For upcoming and existing legislation, AmCham EU recommends six principles to guide simplification across all sectors.

• Avoid overly prescriptive rules: Regulation should be focused on creating ways to achieve policy objectives that do not depend on rigid compliance mechanisms. To encourage investment and innovation, the EU should reduce obligations that disproportionately hinder business operations.
• Streamline: Regulation should be predictable and practically feasible for companies to implement. For example, abolishing overlapping or duplicative regulations; or enabling ‘single agency’ reporting so that companies only have to produce one report for one authority on similar matters.
• Prioritise implementation and enforcement: Before introducing any new directives or regulations that are similar or parallel to existing regulatory frameworks, the Commission should take stock of whether existing frameworks are being properly enforced and implemented, with all necessary guidelines in place.
• Reinforce the Single Market: EU regulation must ensure greater harmonisation across Member States. Where legislation is necessary, it should avoid a patchwork of differing national or regional frameworks.
• Delay enforcement during revision: While simplification is underway, businesses should not be made to comply with legislation that could materially change. Compliance with regulatory obligations requires costly investments from companies that diverts resources away from core business operations. To give businesses legal certainty, any simplification proposal should consider whether, and how, the EU can stop the clock on existing compliance requirements for companies of all sizes.
• Strengthen international regulatory cooperation: Many EU regulatory frameworks have significant implications for global business operations and compliance. Simplification gives EU policymakers an opportunity to find regulatory alignment with other countries and avoid significant conflicts that create complexity for businesses with a global footprint.

Focusing on these areas will help the EU deliver speed and flexibility and reduce regulatory burdens for companies operating in the region. The Danish Presidency is a critical window for advancing the ongoing omnibus agenda and delivering on the EU’s commitment to competitiveness. Success will depend on resolute action and support from political leaders at the most senior level.