EU Commission's Red Tape Cuts Face Resistance from Lawmakers

BRUSSELS — The European Commission's red-tape slashing mission could save the European economy billions of euros — but only if EU governments and lawmakers get out of its way.

That was the message that top Commission officials sent ministers and members of the European Parliament meeting simultaneously in Strasbourg and Luxembourg on Tuesday.

The call reflected the EU executive's growing frustration with the pushback it's getting from co-legislators over some parts of its simplification drive, which the Commission says is designed to reduce the regulatory burden on business quickly and boost Europe's industrial competitiveness.

There are too many instances "where we see many of the substantial European Commission proposals for simplification being rolled back by co-legislators," Simplification Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told lawmakers during a European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg on Tuesday. "Then, of course, we will not achieve our simplification targets there."

Meanwhile, 250 kilometers away in Luxembourg, Justice Commissioner Michael McGrath was relaying similar worries to Europe ministers, saying the executive is “concerned that the simplification ambition is often reduced” during negotiations.

The Commission has promised to cut red tape for businesses by 25 percent and save the EU economy €37.7 billion a year in annual administrative costs by 2029. So far, it has presented 10 simplification packages — also called 'omnibus' bills — reviewing laws on everything from defense and industrial permitting to agriculture and car safety, with three more proposals expected by the end of the year.

The bills could save businesses €15 billion in costs, the Commission estimates.

But a year and a half into the effort, the level of ambition on simplification is going “substantially down,” warned Dombrovskis.

Both Dombrovskis and McGrath listed ongoing talks on the Commission's proposals to roll back laws on chemicals, digital, environmental and pesticides rules as particularly problematic.

Negotiations on these files have been tense as EU decision makers disagree on how to cut red tape to help companies stay competitive without jeopardizing Europeans' livelihoods by removing environmental safeguards, pollution limits or data protection standards. EU officials are under intense pressure from country leaders to get through all the proposals by the end of the year.

The Commission lost a key battle in its pitch to simplify chemical regulation when negotiators on Wednesday struck a deal on the that tightens rules over the use of cancer-causing chemicals in cosmetics. The Commission wanted to give the chemical industry exemptions on these restrictions following the industry's demands for fewer rules but lawmakers and EU countries said this would be detrimental to people's health.

Back in April, the Commission also blamed governments for creating more red tape at national level.