Making Laws Simpler and Fairer

The European Parliament’s 2024‑2029 resolution focuses on making EU law clearer, fairer and less burdensome, especially for small and medium‑sized businesses (SMEs). It reaffirms that EU rules must only be made when necessary (subsidiarity) and must not be too heavy (proportionality).

Key points:

• Better law‑making – EU laws should be fit for purpose, simple, and based on evidence. The Parliament wants the Commission to use clear drafting, avoid duplication, and carry out thorough impact assessments for every major proposal.

• Impact assessments – All new laws should include a cost‑benefit analysis that looks at social, economic and environmental effects. The Parliament has set up its own Impact Assessment Directorate to help with this.

• Children’s rights – A “children’s rights test” should be added to every impact assessment, with input from the EU Children’s Participation Platform.

• Regulatory burden – In 2023, national parliaments submitted 22 reasoned opinions (about a third fewer than in 2022) and 577 subsidiarity checks. In 2024, they submitted 252 opinions, 14 of which were reasoned. The Parliament wants more early involvement of national parliaments and better digital tools for sharing information.

• “One in, one out” – The current rule that every new regulation must cancel an old one is seen as too narrow. The Parliament calls for a broader approach that looks at the total cost of all regulations, not just individual acts.

• AI and digital tools – New AI technologies, such as large‑language models, should be tested to help monitor EU law, spot non‑compliance faster and reduce paperwork. Digital solutions should also help SMEs comply with reporting.

• SME focus – The Commission’s new SME and competitiveness check must become standard for all major legislative packages. The Parliament wants a 25 % cut in reporting obligations overall and a 35 % cut for SMEs, but stresses that transparency must not be lost.

• Competitiveness and single market – The Parliament urges the Commission to map all EU and national rules that affect companies, identify overlaps and simplify them. It also wants to reduce “gold‑plating” (adding unnecessary national rules when transposing EU law) and to promote mutual recognition and digital interoperability.

• Regulatory fitness programmes – The Parliament supports the REFIT programme and other tools that simplify legislation, especially for SMEs.

• Implementation and monitoring – The Commission should publish a clear methodology for measuring the cost of new laws, improve the independence and speed of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board, and provide better data on how citizens experience EU rights.

• Draghi and Letta reports – The resolution cites the Draghi report’s call for rule simplification and the Letta report’s emphasis on making regulations support, not hinder, economic activity.

The Parliament asks its President to send this resolution to the Council and the Commission for action.