Baggrund og Problem
The affected EU-Regulation
All EU proposals made during the coming commission period (2024-2029), and which must be implemented. Furthermore, all existing legislation not currently fully implemented.
The affected Danish regulation
The five principles for implementing business-oriented EU regulation in Denmark.
Affected businesses
More than 60 percent of Denmark's exports goes to EU countries, why many companies are affected by how EU regulation is implemented and are enforced in the individual EU countries.
Reasoning behind the recommendation
Timely and correct implementation of EU directives and regulations are of the essence to create a level playing field for EU companies. Therefore, it is important to have a more transparent implementation of the EU regulation in both EU Member States and the EEA countries, as their implementation can have a large influence on the companies' activities and their potential to expand.
Danish Business Regulation Forum illustrates that it is possible to reduce the number of business-oriented EU rules, which is being over-implemented in Denmark. It has, among other things, been done via years of strategic work with the five principles for implementing business-oriented EU regulation, which is a fixed part of the legislative process in all Danish ministries.
Currently, there are no common criteria or understanding among the EU countries
for what constitutes good implementation of EU legislation, just as there are differences in the timing of the transposition of EU legislation in different Member States.
There is also a lack of transparency in implementation[1]. Danish Business Regulation Forum therefore encourages the new Commission to make sure, that it develops principles for good implementation alongside their monitoring of implementation of EU directives, inspired by the Danish best-practice of the five principles.
The Commission should continue to ensure that EU legislation is proportional, suitable, effective, and enforceable at national level in a way that supports the Single Market.
Expected consequences for industry and commerce
The Single Market for goods and service alone is estimated to have an untapped potential of 713 billion EUR by 2029[2]. Parts of this potential can be achieved by reducing the differences between EU countries' implementation of EU regulations.
The difference in the implementation can cause that companies are not able to sell the same product or deliver the same service across the internal market. The differences are not only an obstacle for the individual company, but it also hampers overall growth across Europe's borders.
Certain considerations
The principles must create transparency across the EU countries and should not imply, that it is not possible to set higher standards to increase environment, climate, consumer protection, working environment, labour rights or similar.
Current Danish efforts
The Forum is not aware efforts at EU level, where any Member State, including Denmark, notifies additional national requirements to the Commission.
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[1] cf. the interinstitutional agreement of 2016 on better legislation (paragraphs 43-45) and the EP's decision of 30 May 2018 on the interpretation and implementation of the interinstitutional agreement on better legislation (paragraphs 87, 90 and 91).
[2] Communication from the Commission: The Single Market at 30, COM82023) 162 final.
Anbefaling
Danish Business Regulation Forum recommends that the Commission to ensure that EU legislation is implemented in a way that neither fragments the internal market, hinders competitiveness nor creates unnecessary costs and burdens.
The Forum calls on the Commission to take the lead in ensuring the development of guidance or principles for good implementation that apply across EU countries. This will increase transparency in the implementation and where it is fragmented.
However, the principles must be carried out with respect for the Member States' treaty competences, and it must be emphasized that the Member States are not deprived in any way of their authority to implement minimum directives that they may find
appropriate in national context.
A guide or principles for good implementation could be inspired by the former Stoiber committee's checklist for good implementation of EU legislation[3]. Member States should also use the principles to report back to the Commission on their implementation, making the input and following assessment from the Commission more streamlined.
The Danish government has already drafted five principles for implementation of business-oriented EU regulation in Denmark. The aim is to ensure that new EU regulation is not over-implemented, unless a country specific situation requires it[4].
Danish Business Regulation Forum recommends that the Commission works towards an adoption of the following principles for good implementation, which is inspired by the five Danish principles.
The Commission should work for the following principles, which Member States must address annually:
- Whether there is an expansion of the regulations field of application (the scope).
- Assess why benefits from exemptions are not used, especially if this would lead to obstacles to the internal market.
- Share if additional legal requirements are added, especially if these fall outside the scope of EU legislation or maintain national legal requirements that are more extensive than required in the regulation.
- Share if regulation is implemented earlier than the date set in the regulation.
- Explain why stricter or different enforcement mechanisms are applied than what is necessary for proper implementation.
- Member States should apply the principles to carry out an annual report to the Commission on the implementation of EU legislation – that does not adhere to the 5 principles in the Member States. This reporting should be publicly available.
- Transposition groups with national experts from each Member State should be convened for any newly passed legislation – so that Member States have the opportunity to coordinate their efforts – and facilitate the least possible amount of fragmentation.
- The European Commission should support the important work of the Single Market Enforcement Taskforce (SMET) and take a positive attitude towards further developing the work of this taskforce both in scope and in depth.
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[4] Principper for implementering af erhvervsrettet EU-regulering | erhvervsstyrelsen.dk (in Danish)
Regeringens svar
Regeringen tiltræder anbefalingen. Regeringen vil arbejde for, at der i Kommissionen arbejdes for bedre overblik og transparens i implementeringen af regulering på tværs af medlemslandene. Herudover vil regeringen arbejde for, at Kommissionen etablerer implementeringsworkshops med repræsentanter fra medlemsstaterne med henblik på at skabe et rum for bedre koordination af implementeringsindsatserne, og for at Kommissionen afdækker/overvejer, om der i forhold til erhvervsrettet EU-regulering kan hentes inspiration fra de danske principper for implementering.
Regeringen anlægger et rimelighedsprincip ift., hvorvidt medlemslandene skal rapportere tilbage til Kommissionen. Regeringen arbejder derfor ud fra, at eventuel overimplementering og muligheder for implementering afdækkes og deles medlemslandene imellem - eksempelvis på de efterspurgte implementeringsworkshops.