Polen: EU moet meer vaart zetten achter verlichting administratieve lasten in EU (en)

At the invitation of the Polish Presidency, on 14th-15th November a meeting of the High Level Group on Administrative Burdens took place in Warsaw.

In addition to the away session, its members took part in the conference ‘Regulatory Reform in Poland. State of Play’, organised jointly by the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Economy and the Polish Confederation of Private Employers Lewiatan (PKPP Lewiatan).

The meetings in Warsaw were primarily aimed at drawing attention, as part of the Polish Presidency, to the importance of the EU law-making process for the removal of administrative barriers for citizens and businesses. At a time when the EU is faced with the biggest crisis in public finances and confidence in the idea of integration since its creation, a reduction in administrative burdens is a natural source of savings and a way of seeking additional sources of growth. The High Level Group used the meeting in Warsaw to present the first examples of good practice law-making methods that will be included in the Good Practices Report, commissioned by the European Commission.

The High Level Group on Administrative Burdens, chaired by Edmund Stoiber, former Prime Minister of Bavaria, was founded in 2008. It aims to support the European Commission’s plan to reduce the administrative costs generated by directives by 25 percent by 2012. The 15-person group is helping the European Commission in the review of EU rules and identifies regulations that increase to an unreasonable extent the administrative costs in the economy. Last year, Dr Malgorzata Starczewska-Krzysztoszek, chief economist of PKPP Lewiatan and member of the Economic Council, was invited to participate in the group’s work.