Consult the detailed scoring methodology.
Question | Answer | Note |
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Do ministries or regulatory agencies develop forward regulatory plans – that is, a public list of anticipated regulatory changes or proposals intended to be adopted/implemented within a specified time frame? | Yes, throughout government |
The Commission Work Program and the roadmaps are published for each legislative initiative; the strategic plans and the management plans of the Commission departments. The European Commission's Work Program (http://ec.europa.eu/atwork/key-documents/index_en.htm) is adopted and published each October for the following year. It includes key policy initiatives and major Regulatory Fitness and Performance (REFIT) initiatives. It also lists planned withdrawals and repeals. Furthermore, the European Commission publishes on a regular basis a list of planned initiatives which includes other upcoming major legislative initiatives as well as some particularly relevant non-legislative initiatives. Strategic Plans are published every 5 years (https://ec.europa.eu/info/strategy/strategy-documents_en).
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Are these plans available to general public? | Yes | |
Do ministries or regulatory agencies publish the text or summary of proposed (not yet adopted) regulations before their enactment? | Yes, throughout government | |
Where is the draft text or summary published? |
On a unified website where all proposed regulations are published; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; printed in a federal journal ...
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On a unified website where all proposed regulations are published; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; printed in a federal journal or similar publication; directly distributed to interested stakeholders. |
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/legislative-procedures.html
http://ec.europa.eu/competition/ The authentic electronic Official Journal of the EU (publication of the texts with legal validity) is also published in EUR-Lex and it is searchable. |
Do ministries or regulatory agencies have the legal obligation to publish the text of proposed regulations before their enactment? | Yes, throughout government |
Article 297 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 20, Para. 4 of the Rules of Procedure. (http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/en/ALL/?uri=OJ:L:2010:055:TOC)
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Is the entire text of the proposed draft published? | Yes, throughout government | |
Is there a period of time set by law for the text of the proposed regulations to be publicly available? | No |
Question | Answer | Note |
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Do ministries or regulatory agencies solicit comments on proposed (not yet adopted) regulations from the general public? | Yes, throughout government | |
How are the comments received? |
On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through targeted out...
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On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator; through public meetings; through targeted outreach to stakeholders, such as business associations or other groups; through email. |
https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/contribute-law-making_en
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=333&langId=en. Targeted consultations, expert meeting etc. The government conducts a detailed stakeholder mapping. |
Are received comments publicly accessible? | Yes, throughout government |
The input received is to be published on the consultation web page, i.e. on the page that already contained the questionnaire. Summaries of the input received also accompany the draft regulation through the adoption process.
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Is the rulemaking body required by law to solicit these comments on proposed regulations? | Yes |
Article 11 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) requires the European Commission to "carry out broad consultations with parties concerned in order to ensure that the Union's actions are coherent and transparent." Specific requirements are included in the Better Regulation Guidelines. The obligation to consult is also reflected in Protocol 2 to the Treaties. Input received is to be published on the consultation web page, i.e. on the page that already contained the questionnaire. Summaries of the input received also accompany the draft regulation through the adoption process.
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Is there a specialized government body or department tasked with soliciting and receiving these comments? | No | |
Do ministries or regulatory agencies report on the results of the consultation on proposed regulations? | Yes, throughout government | |
How does the government report on the results of the consultation? | Prepares one consolidated response. |
The results of all consultation activities and roadmap comments linked to a specific initiative have to be published in a so-called "Synopsis report". This report accompanies the draft regulation throughout the adoption process. Feedback received on the Commission proposals is also summarized and attached to the proposal. In addition, the better Regulation guidelines encourage service to also publish brief summaries of each consultation activity.
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Where does the government report on the results of the consultation? | On a unified website for all proposed regulations; on the website of the relevant ministry or regulator. | |
Is reporting on the results of the consultation required by law? | No |
Consultation in general is covered in Art. 11 of the EU treaties (TFEU). Based on this, implementing guidelines have been established, the 'Better Regulation Guidelines'.
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Question | Answer | Note |
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Do ministries or regulatory agencies conduct an impact assessment of proposed (not yet adopted) regulations? | Yes, throughout government | |
Are there criteria used for determining which proposed regulations are subjected to an impact assessment? | Yes |
Impact assessments are necessary for the most important Commission initiatives and those which will have significant economic, social or environmental impacts: all major legislative and non-legislative initiatives and secondary legislation (implementing and delegated acts).
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Are there any specific regulatory impact assessment guidelines? | Yes | |
Are impact assessments required by law? | No |
The requirement to conduct impact assessments stems from the Better Regulation Guidelines.
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Are impact assessment made publicly available? | Yes | |
How is this assessment distributed? | Through a unified website for all proposed regulations. | |
When is this assessment distributed? | Together with the draft proposed legislation. | |
Is there an obligation for regulators to consider alternatives to proposed regulation? | Yes, throughout government |
In line with the proportionality principle, the content and form of the Union action must not go beyond what is necessary to meet the objectives of the EU Treaty. This requires the European Commission to consider alternative policy instruments and to justify the final choice.
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Is there a specialized government body tasked with reviewing and monitoring regulatory impact assessments conducted by other individual agencies or government bodies? | Yes | |
Please provide the name of this government body, and explain its functions. |
The Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) provides a central quality control and support function for European Commission impact assessment and evaluation w...
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The Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) provides a central quality control and support function for European Commission impact assessment and evaluation work. It was set up on July 1, 2015 and replaced the Impact Assessment Board. The Board checks the quality |
Question | Answer | Note |
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Are the laws that are currently in effect available in a single place? | Yes | |
How are the laws that are in force accessed? |
On a unified website managed by the government Printed in an official gazette / journal or other publication |
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/collection/eu-law.html
The authentic electronic Official Journal of the EU (publication of the texts with legal validity) is also published in EUR-Lex and it is searchable. https://eur-lex.europa.eu/oj/direct-access.html |
Are the secondary regulations that are currently in effect codified and available in a single place? | Yes | |
Are these websites or registries updated regularly? | Yes | |
Can these websites or registries be accessed by the public free of charge? | Yes |