THE ‘BETTER REGULATION’ AGENDA OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
THE ‘BETTER REGULATION’ AGENDA OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Summary/Abstract: Today the institutions of the European Union are all more conscious about the need for better regulation1, than they were in the past. Rightly so, not least since better regulation has become a key concern, a major political issue2 that goes far beyond the question of how the European Union can create more favourable framework conditions for competitiveness, growth and jobs. The evident crisis of legitimacy for European integration in some Member States is partly linked to the public perception of the EU as a bureaucratic monster3: the EU is often criticised for the volume of legislation and for producing over-complex and unwieldy legislation. The acquis communautaire takes up approximately 97,000 pages of the Official Journal, this certainly sounds like an awfully high number.4 The EU needs to make sure that its legal system is fully adapted to the needs and opportunities of today and tomorrow while reflecting the best principles of law-making, and it has to put more emphasis on transparency and policy articulation.

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