Source: European Parliament
The Political Guidelines for 2024-2029 express the Commission’s clear focus on making business easier and faster in Europe. Underlining this focus, the Commission set the goal to reduce reporting obligations by at least 25%, and 35% for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Reporting burdens are a subset of all administrative burdens. Thus, to further increase our ambition, the 25% and 35% targets will in the future refer to the costs of all administrative burdens, not only reporting requirements.
Eurostat helped provide an approximation of the baseline for this, resulting in a goal of reducing around EUR 37.5 billion of recurring costs until the end of the mandate. Dedicated measures for SMEs will aim to meet the 35% target.
The Commission will regularly report on the progress towards these targets. The information in annual burden surveys will also continue to be reported. Given the transition year, relevant information for 2023 and 2024 will be provided as part of the Commission’s reporting on implementation and simplification.
The Commission is fully committed to the principles of proportionality and subsidiarity, to deliver tailored, easy to implement and efficient legislation.
A cost-benefit analysis underpins all impact assessments showing that benefits outweigh costs. New administrative costs are offset within the one-in one out approach.
All legislative measures with significant impacts and policy options are accompanied by an impact assessment or, in case of urgency, a staff working document, analysing the most significant economic, social and environmental impacts and presenting a compulsory competitiveness check.
This is the case for significant legislative initiatives included in the 2025 Commission Work Program.