PURPOSE: to improve cooperation between the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission (‘the three institutions’) in order to deliver high quality legislation.

NON LEGISLATIVE ACT: Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission on better law-making.

CONTENT: by this Agreement, the three Institutions recognise their joint responsibility in delivering high-quality Union legislation and in ensuring that this legislation:

focuses on areas where it has the greatest added value for European citizens,

is as efficient and effective as possible in delivering the common policy objectives of the Union, is as simple and as clear as possible , avoids overregulation and administrative burdens for citizens, administrations and businesses, especially small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs"), is designed with a view to facilitating its transposition and practical application and to strengthening the competitiveness and sustainability of the Union economy.

The Agreement improves how the EU legislates in several ways:

Programming: the Union's annual and multiannual programming will be strengthened. The Commission will engage in a dialogue with the European Parliament and the Council, both before and after the adoption of its annual work programme. It will duly take account of the views expressed by the European Parliament and the Council at each stage of the dialogue, including their requests for initiatives. When the Commission intends to withdraw a legislative proposal, it will provide the reasons for such withdrawal. It will take due account of, and respond to, the co-legislators' positions.

Impact assessment : respecting the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality as well as fundamental rights, impact assessments must examine whether Union action is necessary or not. They must:

map out alternative solutions and, where possible, potential short and long-term costs and benefits, assessing the economic, environmental and social impacts ; address, whenever possible, the " cost of non-Europe " and the impact on competitiveness and the administrative burdens of the different options, having particular regard to SMEs, digital aspects and territorial impact.

Impact assessments must not lead to undue delays in the law-making process or prejudice the co-legislators' capacity to propose amendments.

Public and stakeholder consultation : the Commission will, before adopting a proposal, conduct public consultations in an open and transparent way, ensuring the widest possible participation. The results of public and stakeholder consultations shall be communicated without delay to both co-legislators and made public.

Ex-post evaluation of existing legislation : in the context of the legislative cycle, evaluations of existing legislation and policy, based on efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and value added, should provide the basis for impact assessments of options for further action. The use of review clauses in legislation will be systematically examined.

Delegated acts : with a view to enhancing transparency, the Commission commits to consulting Member States' experts and conducting public consultations, prior to the adoption of delegated acts. The three Institutions commit to set up, at the latest by the end of 2017, a joint functional register of delegated acts , in order to enhance transparency, facilitate planning and enable traceability of all the different stages in the lifecycle of a delegated act.

Transparency and coordination of the legislative process : the three Institutions agree that the European Parliament and the Council, as the co-legislators, are to exercise their powers on an equal footing. The Commission shall carry out its role as facilitator by treating the two branches of the legislative authority equally.

The three Institutions will ensure the transparency of legislative procedures, on the basis of relevant legislation and case-law, including an appropriate handling of trilateral negotiations . They undertake to identify, by 31 December 2016, ways of further developing platforms and tools to that end, with a view to establishing a dedicated joint database on the state of play of legislative files.

Simplification : the three Institutions commit to promoting the most efficient regulatory instruments, such as harmonisation and mutual recognition, and to cooperate in order to update and simplify legislation, while ensuring that the objectives of the legislation are met.

By way of contribution to its regulatory fitness and performance programme (REFIT), the Commission undertakes to present annually an overview, including an annual burden survey , of the results of the Union's efforts to simplify legislation and to avoid overregulation and reduce administrative burdens.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 13.4.2016.

The European Parliament, by 516 votes to 92, with 95 abstentions, decided to approve the Interinstitutional Agreement (IIA) on Better Law Making between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

Members welcomed the agreement reached between the institutions and considered this a good basis for establishing and developing a new, more open and transparent relationship between them with a view to delivering better law-making in the interest of the Union's citizens.

Recalling the importance that it attaches to the Community method , the three institutions agreed to:

observe general principles of Union law, such as democratic legitimacy, subsidiarity and proportionality, and legal certainty; promote simplicity, clarity and consistency in the drafting of Union legislation and the utmost transparency of the legislative process; that Union legislation should be: (i) comprehensible and clear, (ii) allow citizens, administrations and businesses to easily understand their rights and obligations, (iii) include appropriate reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements, (iv) avoid overregulation and administrative burdens, (v) and be practical to implement.

Programming : Parliament welcomed in particular the results of the negotiations as regards multiannual and annual interinstitutional programming, the Commission's follow-up to Parliament's legislative initiatives, and the provision of justifications for and consultations on envisaged withdrawals of legislative proposals. It stressed that the agreed strong focus on the Commission's work programme cannot be understood as justifying any restriction of Parliament's own legislative powers or right of initiative.

Better law-making tools : underlining the importance of the new IIA’s provisions on better law-making tools (public and stakeholder consultations, impact assessments and ex-post evaluations of existing legislation), Members considered that that impact assessments must be comprehensive and balanced and should assess, inter alia, the cost to producers, consumers, workers, administrators and to the environment of not adopting the necessary legislation. They stressed the importance of taking into account, and paying attention to, the needs of SMEs at all stages of the legislative cycle and called for the assessment of the impact on SME to be included in impact assessment reports.

Parliament also welcomed the aim of improving the implementation and application of Union legislation, inter alia through better identification of national measures that are not required by the Union legislation that is to be transposed ("gold-plating").

Parliament requested that the independence of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (formerly 'Impact Assessment Board') be strengthened including, in particular, that members of the Board should not be subject to political control, whilst recalling that the Commission may complement its own impact assessment or undertake other analytical work it considers necessary.

Nevertheless, Members pointed out that impact assessments do not replace the political decision-making process .

Simplification of legislation : Parliament welcomed the agreement between the institutions to cooperate in order to update and simplify legislation and to exchange views thereon, prior to the finalisation of the Commission Work Programme. It underlined the importance of the agreed " Annual Burden Survey " as provided for in the agreement, as a tool to identify and monitor, in a clear and transparent manner, the results of the Union's efforts, in order to avoid and reduce any overregulation and administrative burdens , in particular for SMEs.

According to Members, the feasibility and desirability of establishing objectives for the reduction of burdens in specific sectors must be carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis in close cooperation between the institutions. Moreover, they is necessary to focus on the quality of legislation , and without undermining relevant Union standards. The Commission is expected to propose, on a regular basis, the repeal of legal acts where such repeal is deemed to be necessary.

Delegated and implementing acts : Parliament pointed to the need for a swift agreement on appropriate criteria for delineating delegated and implementing acts, t he setting-up of a register of delegated acts, and a prompt alignment of all basic acts to the legal framework introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon.

Transparency and coordination of the legislative process : Members acknowledged that the agreed measures to improve the mutual exchange of views and information between Parliament and the Council should be developed further, particularly in terms of mutual access to information and meetings, so as to ensure a truly equal balance and equal treatment between the legislators throughout the legislative procedure.

Recalling that the TFEU establishes an ordinary legislative procedure with three readings, Members considered that second-reading agreements should be the standard procedure whereas first reading agreements should be used only where a considered and explicit decision has been taken to do so.

Parliament also insisted on the need to monitor the following issues: (i) transparency in the context of trilateral exchange of views; (ii) development of platforms and tools for the establishment of a joint database on the state of play of legislative files; (iii) provision of information to national parliaments and practical arrangements for cooperation; (iv) information-sharing regarding negotiations on, and the conclusion of, international agreements.

The Committee on Constitutional Affairs adopted the report by Danuta Maria HÜBNER (EPP, PL) on the conclusion of an Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Law Making between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.

Members welcomed the agreement reached between the institutions and considered this a good basis for establishing and developing a new, more open and transparent relationship between them with a view to delivering better law-making in the interest of the Union's citizens.

Programming : the report welcomed in particular the results of the negotiations as regards multiannual and annual interinstitutional programming, the Commission's follow-up to Parliament's legislative initiatives, and the provision of justifications for and consultations on envisaged withdrawals of legislative proposals. It welcomed the agreed interinstitutional exchange of views in the event that a modification of the legal basis of an act is envisaged, and expressed its strong determination to resist any attempt to undermine the legislative powers of the European Parliament by means of a modification of the legal basis.

Better law-making tools : underlining the importance of the new IIA’s provisions on better law-making tools (impact assessments, public and stakeholder consultations, evaluations, etc.), Members considered that that impact assessments must be comprehensive and balanced and should assess, inter alia, the cost to producers, consumers, workers, administrators and to the environment of not adopting the necessary legislation. They stressed the importance of taking into account, and paying attention to, the needs of SMEs at all stages of the legislative cycle and called for the assessment of the impact on SME to be included in impact assessment reports.

The report recalled that, in its resolution of 27 November 2014 on the revision of the Commission’s impact assessment guidelines and requested that the independence of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (formerly 'Impact Assessment Board') be strengthened including, in particular, that members of the Board should not be subject to political control. Members believed, in this respect, that the establishment of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board is a welcome first step in achieving independence thereof. They also pointed out that the legislators may also carry out their own impact assessments where they consider this necessary.

Simplification of legislation : Members welcomed the agreement between the institutions to cooperate in order to update and simplify legislation and to exchange views thereon, prior to the finalisation of the Commission Work Programme. They underlined the importance of the agreed " Annual Burden Survey " as provided for in the agreement.

According to Members, the feasibility and desirability of establishing objectives for the reduction of burdens in specific sectors must be carefully evaluated on a case-by-case basis in close cooperation between the institutions. Moreover, they is necessary to focus on the quality of legislation , and without undermining relevant Union standards. The Commission is expected to propose, on a regular basis , the repeal of legal acts where such repeal is deemed to be necessary.

Delegated and implementing acts : the report pointed to the need for a swift agreement on appropriate criteria for delineating delegated and implementing acts and a prompt alignment of all basic acts to the legal framework introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon.

Mutual exchange of views and information between Parliament and the Council : Members considered that those measures should be developed further, particularly in terms of mutual access to information and meetings, so as to ensure a truly equal balance and equal treatment between the legislators throughout the legislative procedure . They warned that the agreed informal exchanges of views should not develop into a new arena of non-transparent interinstitutional negotiations.

Where Parliament and the Council fully exercise their prerogatives in the legislative procedure, Members considered that second-reading agreements should be the standard procedure whereas first reading agreements should be used only where a considered and explicit decision has been taken to do so.

They highlighted the important role given to national parliaments by the Lisbon Treaty and encouraged better use of the existing subsidiarity and proportionality mechanisms as laid down in the Treaties.

Issues to monitor : the report points out issues that need further follow-up at technical and/or political level, with the active involvement, and drawing on the expertise, of all parliamentary committees having the relevant experience:

programming; verification of the legal basis of acts; evaluation of the application by the Commission of its abovementioned Better Regulation Guidelines and of the effective functioning of the newly created Regulatory Scrutiny Board; the transparency and coordination of the legislative process (including the appropriate use of first and second-reading procedures, practical arrangements for exchanges of views, information-sharing and comparison of time-tables, transparency in the context of trilateral negotiations, development of platforms and tools for the establishment of a joint database on the state of play of legislative files, the provision of information to national parliaments and practical arrangements for cooperation and information-sharing regarding negotiations on, and the conclusion of, international agreements); an evaluation and possible follow up of the independence of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board in fulfilling its role in supervising and providing objective advice on respective impact assessments; the expectation by Parliament, pursuant to the relevant provisions of the new IIA, that the Commission comes forward with proposals establishing targets, where feasible, for the reduction of burdens in key sectors as soon as possible while ensuring that the objectives of the legislation are met; delegated and implementing acts, (negotiations on delineation criteria for delegated and implementing acts, the setting-up of a register of delegated acts and full alignment of pre-Lisbon acts); implementation and application of Union legislation (scrutiny of the communication, by Member States, of the transposition of directives, as well as of each national measure that goes beyond the provisions of Union legislation ("gold-plating")).

In conclusion, the committee approved the draft Interinstitutional Agreement on better law-making as well as the statement by Parliament and the Commission contained in Annex II to this decision.

This Commission Communication accompanies the Communication entitled ‘Better regulation for better results - An EU agenda’. It contains the proposal for an Interinstitutional Agreement between the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union and the Commission on Better Regulation.

By this Agreement, the three institutions agree to pursue better regulation by means of the following series of initiatives and procedures:

1) Programming and planning : the three institutions agree to reinforce the Union's annual and multiannual programming. The Commission will:

exchange views with the European Parliament and the Council ahead of the adoption of its annual work programme, on the basis of a written contribution from the President of the Commission; give serious consideration to the requests made by the European Parliament or the Council for the submission of legislative proposals.

Based on the Commission Work Programme, the three institutions will agree annually a list of proposals that will receive priority treatment in the legislative process.

2) Impact assessment : the positive contribution of impact assessment in improving the quality of Union legislation is recognised. Impact assessments should:

address the existence, scale and consequences of a problem and whether Union action is needed; map out alternative solutions assessing the economic, environmental and social impacts; be based on best available evidence and be proportionate with regard to their scope and focus.

The Commission will carry out impact assessments of the initiatives that are expected to have significant economic, environmental or social impacts. The Commission's Regulatory Scrutiny Board will carry out a quality check of its impact assessments. The final results of the impact assessments will be made available to the European Parliament, the Council and national parliaments.

The European Parliament and the Council will start their consideration of Commission proposals by examining the Commission's impact assessment.

3) Quality of the legislation : legislation should: (i) be comprehensible and clear; (ii) allow parties to easily understand their rights and obligations; (iii) include appropriate reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements; (iv) avoid disproportionate costs; and (v) be practical to implement. Each institution may call for an independent panel to carry out an assessment of these factors following any substantial amendment to the Commission proposal.

4) Stakeholder consultation and feedback : the Commission will conduct public internet-based consultations to seek views and information from interested parties. The results of each consultation will be made public.

Stakeholders will be given the opportunity to voice their opinions during an eight-week period following the adoption by the Commission of its proposal and the related impact assessment, in parallel with the consultation process established for national parliaments.

5) Ex-post evaluation of existing legislation : the agreement covers the following points:

work to evaluate the performance of Union legislation, including related public and stakeholder consultations will be organised in the most consistent and coherent manner; proposals for significant amendments or development of Union legislation should be rooted in robust prior evaluation of the efficiency, effectiveness, relevance, coherence and value added of existing law and policy; all EU spending and non-spending activities should be evaluated in a proportionate way; the three institutions commit to systematically consider the use of review clauses . In cases where legislation should only apply for a fixed period of time, sunset clauses will be used.

6) Legislative instruments : the Commission will explain to the European Parliament and to the Council in the explanatory memoranda which accompany its proposals: (i) its choice of legislative instrument; (ii) how the measures proposed are justified in the light of the principles of subsidiarity and proportionality and are compatible with fundamental rights. It will also give an account of both the scope and the results of any stakeholder consultation.

7) Delegated and implementing acts:

in accordance with the “ Common Understanding on Delegated Acts”, the Commission commits to gathering, prior to the adoption of delegated acts, all necessary expertise including through the consultation of experts from the Member States and through public consultations ; the three institutions agree to refrain from adding in Union legislation, procedural requirements, sui generis procedures or additional roles for committees, other than those set out in Regulation (EU) No 182/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning comitology.

8) Coordination of the legislative process : the three institutions agree to:

improve the coordination of their preparatory and legislative work in the context of the ordinary legislative procedure; establish with the Commission an indicative timetable for the various stages leading to the final adoption of each legislative proposal; keep each other regularly informed about their work throughout the legislative process and about on-going negotiations among them via appropriate procedures; ensure an appropriate degree of t ransparency of the legislative process, including of trilateral negotiations between the three institutions.

9) Simplificatio n: the three institutions agree to cooperate continuously to update and simplify legislation and to reduce unnecessary regulatory burdens for business, administrations and citizens. They will take the Commission’s Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT) Programme, or any other future programme with a similar objective, as a basis for this task.

Implementation and application of Union legislation : Member States are called upon to:

swiftly and correctly apply Union legislation; communicate clearly to their public the national measures when transposing or implementing Union legislation or ensuring the implementation of the Union budget; cooperate with the Commission in obtaining information and data needed to monitor and evaluate the implementation of EU law.

The Commission will report annually to the European Parliament on the application of Union legislation.

PURPOSE: to present new measures to deliver better rules for better results.

BACKGROUND: the new Commission’s priority is to deliver solutions to the big issues that cannot be addressed by the Member States alone : (i) an investment plan to leverage EUR 315 billion to boost jobs and growth; (ii) an energy union to deliver secure, affordable and sustainable energy; (iii) an internal security agenda to tackle common threats like terrorism and organised crime; (iv) a digital single market to unlock online opportunities; (v) and a migration agenda.

The new initiatives flow from genuine political priorities and the Commission cannot, and should not, be involved in every issue in the EU.

The Commission stresses that better regulation is not about "more" or "less" EU legislation, nor is it about deregulating or deprioritising certain policy areas or compromising EU values. The aim is rather to make sure that ambitious policy goals are achieved.

CONTENT: this Communication sets out a series of actions which demonstrate the Commission’s renewed commitment to apply the principles of better regulation to its everyday work . The aim is to work more transparently and inclusively to produce higher quality proposals, and ensure that existing rules deliver important societal goals more effectively.

1) Consulting more, listening better : the Commission intends to lead more transparent consultations, which reach all relevant stakeholders and target the evidence needed to make sound decisions. The Commission will create a website for each initiative.

Thus, stakeholders will be able to:

express their views over the entire lifecycle of a policy ; (i) there will be twelve-week public consultations when preparing new proposals and when evaluating and carry out "fitness checks" of existing legislation; (ii) citizens or stakeholders will be invited to provide feedback within eight weeks to feed these views into the legislative debate; provide feedback on acts setting out technical or specific elements that are needed to implement the legislation adopted by the European Parliament and the Council: (i) the draft texts of delegated acts and important implementing acts which are subject to comitology will be open to the public on the Commission's website for four weeks; (ii) the Commission will publish an indicative list online of any such acts in the pipeline, so stakeholders can plan ahead.

2) Explaining better the objectives to be achieve and the results expected : an improved explanatory memorandum accompanying each Commission proposal will explain why the initiative is needed, why it is the best tool for the EU to use, what stakeholders think and what the likely environmental, social and economic impacts are, particularly those on competitiveness and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

3) How EU law affects people, businesses and society as a whole : the Commission wants stakeholders to be able to provide feedback on any aspect of EU policy and legislation, at any time. A new "Lighten the Load – Have Your Say" feature on the Commission's better regulation website will give everyone a chance to air their views and make comments on existing EU laws and initiatives in addition to the formal consultations the Commission undertakes.

4) Better regulation : new, integrated guidelines on better regulation will apply to the Commission's work and will ensure that: (i) economic, social and environmental impacts continue to be considered alongside each other in all of the Commission's analytical work together with fundamental rights; (ii) keeping the EU competitive and the EU's development sustainable remains a priority; (iii) particular attention is paid to the rules that affect SMEs.

When considering policy solutions, the Commission will consider both regulatory and well-designed non-regulatory means as well as improvements in the implementation and enforcement of existing legislation.

The Impact Assessment Board which has evaluates initial proposals since 2006, will be replaced by a new Regulatory Scrutiny Board with a strengthened role, which will: (i) assess the quality of the impact assessments which inform political decision-making; (ii) check major evaluations and carry out " fitness checks " of existing legislation.

5) Keeping EU Law fit for purpose: over time, even well-designed legislation may become out of date, more burdensome than it needs to be, or ceases to achieve its objectives. The regulatory fitness and performance programme (REFIT) adopted by the Commission to ensure that EU legislation remains fit for purpose and delivers the results intended by EU lawmakers. It aims to unlock the benefits of EU law for citizens, businesses and society as a whole in the most efficient and effective way, while removing red tape and lowering costs without compromising policy objectives.

In the framework of the REFIT programme, the Commission is already working to:

reduce burdens in areas such as: public procurement, business statistics and chemicals legislation ; repeal outdated legislation: 23 candidates for repeal have been identified in various policy areas; engage in reviews and comprehensive evaluations across a wide range of policies and legislation – e.g. on late payments, pesticides; food nutrition and health claims; motor insurance; the EU Derivatives Regulation and the Capital Requirements Regulation; improve implementation of legislation and simplify the management of funds in the EU.

6) Towards an new institutional agreement : the Commission considers that real change will only happen through a commitment shared between all EU institutions, and each and every Member State. Accordingly, it proposes a new agreement with Parliament and Council, whereby the three institutions will particularly undertake to:

prioritise initiatives that would simplify or improve existing laws such as those initiatives identified in the Commission's REFIT programme; carry out an impact assessment on any substantial amendments that the European Parliament or the Council propose during the legislative process; agree that legislation should be comprehensible and clear , allow parties to easily understand their rights and obligations include appropriate reporting, monitoring and evaluation requirements, avoid disproportionate costs, and be practical to implement; urge Member States to avoid unjustified "gold plating " of EU rules when transposing them into national law; be more transparent and participative; promote " recast" legislation , so that laws remain clear and well-structured even after being amended; and make EU legislation as accessible as possible: so everyone can see the legislation that affects them— online, up-to-date, reliable, complete and consolidated.

The Commission hopes the three institutions can finalise a new agreement by the end of 2015.