Austria, together with twelve other EU states, is demanding a change of course in European legislation: for one year, simplifying and better implementing existing rules should take priority over introducing new regulations. The aim is to reduce unnecessary administration and make it easier for businesses, public authorities and citizens to deal with EU rules.
The focus is on a simple question: Is a new rule really necessary, or can a problem be solved using existing regulations? The participating states want existing EU rules to be reviewed more systematically. This should include examining whether regulations are still necessary, whether they overlap with other rules, or if they maybe create unnecessary administrative burdens.
For businesses, bureaucracy can become particularly time-consuming when similar information has to be reported several times. The initiative therefore calls, among other things, for duplicate reporting to be reduced and cooperation between authorities to be improved. Wherever possible, data should only have to be submitted digitally once, instead of being submitted several times for different procedures.
The demand is therefore not orientated against regulation itself. Rather, the aim is to better coordinate existing regulations and simplify them where unnecessary duplication or complicated procedures arise. At the same time, before new legislation is introduced, there should be a more precise examination of whether regulation at EU level is actually necessary and what concrete added value it would provide.
However, trade unions have sent reservations. “Simple, understandable and practical laws are important. But reducing bureaucracy must not mean weakening protection of rights or reducing controls.”
The EU should continue to create common rules wherever they provide concrete added value. At the same time, regulations must be as clear and practical as possible and limited to what is really necessary.