Exchange Best Practices


Better regulation policy is based on the fact that Member States should achieve/prepare legislation that is efficient, transparent, proportional and responsible, thus enabling growth and the development of the business sector, especially small and medium-sized companies, as well as the creation of a citizen-friendly legislative environment. These objectives could be achieved with close cooperation between Member States, primarily by exchanging best practices in preparing regulations in individual Member States.

The report ‘Europe Can Do Better’ or ‘Europe Can Be More Successful’, prepared for the European Commission by a high-level group of independent experts, under the leadership of Dr Stoiber, for eliminating administrative burdens, shows that almost a third of administrative burdens deriving from EU legislation do not stem from the inefficiency of legislation as such, but from the inefficient implementation of EU legislation at national level. Member States should ensure the suitable implementation of EU legislation.

This does not require the development of extensive new capabilities, nor is there a need to convince the majority of the population of it. Member States should exercise best practices as implemented in other Member States. Companies which are enabled by the state to conduct business with fewer burdens may dedicate more time to the performance of their activity, thus improving productivity and overall competitiveness in accordance with the Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. Optimum implementation and the avoidance of excessive regulation of EU requirements and standards therefore are key elements for more effective operations and increasing companies’ competitiveness.

In addition to the report ‘Europe Can Do Better’, a brochure (Best practices for reducing administrative burdens) was published, which includes key recommendations with the proposed steps for the efficient implementation of EU legislation and concrete examples of the best practices of Member States.
The proposed steps include questions regarding:

  • the exchange of best practices,
  • systematic assessment of the impact of regulations and policies,
  • excessive EU requirements/standards (gold-plating),
  • considering the principle ‘Think and Act Small First’ (SME test),
  • the determination of legislative requirements by taking the risk-management approach,
  • electronic solutions and
  • the reuse of already acquired data.