STATEMENT

19 May 2015

FoodDrinkEurope fully supportive of Better

Regulation proposal
FoodDrinkEurope strongly supports the Commissions ambition to deliver better rules for
better results, as announced in todays proposal on Better Regulation. FoodDrinkEurope also
agrees that the main 3 Institutions share a joint responsibility in delivering better regulation.
It is therefore crucial

to open up policy making and interact better with those who implement and
benefit from (or sometimes endure) EU legislation
to take a fresh look across all policy areas to see where existing measures
need to be improved.

Better regulation is indeed about making sure policy actually delivers on the aims set.
This means that positive developments also include good consultations, with pertinent
questions asked well in advance of policy making and with a sufficient time frame to react
constructively.
It also means that an appropriate impact assessment has to be carried out, with an explicit
purpose for action. FoodDrinkEurope therefore looks forward to seeing the new Regulatory
Scrutiny Board in action. Along the same line, if the European Parliament introduces
substantial changes to an initial proposal, an appropriate new impact assessment should be
requested.
Clearly, more regulation does not necessarily mean better regulation; while regulation
remains important, it is also worthwhile looking into implementation and areas where the
absence of regulation may have delivered as well.
While the Commissions proposal requires a more in-depth analysis and further commenting,
FoodDrinkEurope reiterates its commitment to contributing to this exercise and making better
regulation happen in practice.