A total lack of transparency is tainting the negotiations for better European regulations

European Parliament member Anneleen Van Bossuyt is very sceptical about the way in which the European Parliament has been involved in the inter-institutional agreement about better regulations , about which Parliament, the Council and Commission must negotiate. “Indeed, parliament has just approved of a report about this, but in fact the parliamentary commissions in question have hardly been consulted, and the members of parliament hardly received an opportunity to inspect any of the texts.” A total lack of transparency, for which ALDE-party leader Guy Verhofstadt as the parliamentary negotiator is mainly to blame. Guy Verhofstadt proved once again that he is on the same wavelength with Angela Merkel’s old European line, in which agreements are arranged behind closed doors, followed by the obeisance of the rest,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt criticises.

For example, the European Parliament repeatedly hammered home the importance of explicitly purposing to reduce administrative burdens, not a word of which is reflected in the agreement. “Guy Verhofstadt likes to present himself as the big proponent of a transparent Europe, but he demonstrates just the opposite,” Anneleen Van Bossuyt concludes. “I wash my hands of whether he is a bad listener or a bad negotiator.”

A more efficient and transparent Europe

Fortunately, Anneleen Van Bossuyt has still been able to help ensure that the attention is focused on a clear goal for the reduction of burdens as well as the independence of the body that is to pass judgement on the impact of new bills. “Thanks to our N-VA delegation, the potential impact of legislation on SMEs and on competition was also tabled. Nonetheless, the agreement could do with a strong dose of ambition. Without an obligation to perform, it is difficult to achieve the objective. And that objective must be fewer, but better European rules.”