Activities of Heidi HAUTALA related to 2020/2262(INI)
Legal basis opinions (0)
Amendments (21)
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 a (new)
Citation 9 a (new)
— having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 15 January 2020 on the European Green Deal (2019/2956(RSP)), which welcomes the commitment by the Commission to ensure that all EU actions should help the EU achieve a sustainable future and a just transition and to update the better regulation guidelines accordingly, requiring, inter alia, that a ‘sustainability first’ principle be integrated into the Better Regulation Agendas of the EU and its Member States,
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 9 b (new)
Citation 9 b (new)
— having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 9 June 2016 for an open, efficient and independent European Union administration;
Amendment 12 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the Commission in its 24 October 2017 Communication ‘Completing the Better Regulation Agenda: Better solutions for better results’ (COM(2017) 651) clearly rejected the ‘one-in, one-out’ approach and ‘fixing ex ante burden reduction targets’ as inappropriate for the elaboration of EU law because it ‘would create deregulatory pressures and impair its political responsibility to deliver what needs to be done when it needs to be done’;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas the current crisis has strengthened the need to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens to make sure that EU laws deliver their intended benefits while reducing unnecessary costs, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); whereas, however, ‘Better Regulation’ should deliver for all and serve the interest of European society; whereas business interests alone cannot be put on an equal footing with the general interest, which also includes the interests of workers, citizens, consumers and the environment;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union aims to ensure that decisions are taken as closely as possible to citizenst the most appropriate policy level and that constant checks are carried out to verify that action at EU level is justified in the light of the possibilities available at national, regional or local level and to guarantee that the EU does not take action, except in the areas that fall within its exclusive competence, unless it is more effective than action taken at national, regional or local level; recalls, too, that the principle of proportionality requires that any action taken by the EU should not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives of the Treaties;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that the use of directives as legislative instruments allows for better compliance with and respect for the principle of subsidiarity; highlights, however, that the use of a horizontal regulation can in some cases alleviate the complexity of EU legislation and ensure that one uniform rule applies in all Member states;
Amendment 64 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Emphasises the importance of the participation of national parliaments in the process of law-making at EU level; regretnotes the fact that in 2017 the Commission received 20 % fewer reasoned opinions than in 2016 (52 reasoned opinions in 2017 compared to 65 reasoned opinions in 2016), and that in 2018 it received only 37 reasoned opinions; observes that no proposals received more than four reasoned opinions; welcomes the active participation of national parliaments in legislative dialogue with the EU institutions through other means than Subsidiarity Control Mechanism;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Recalls that transparency and publicity of an ongoing legislative procedure are inherent to the legislative process and can therefore be applied to the access of documents for trilogues as stated by the CJEU in its case-law, case T540/15, De Capitani v Parliament in particular; adds furthermore that openness and transparency confer greater legitimacy and confidence in the democratic legislative process of the European Union;
Amendment 73 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Regrets the practice where “efficiency of the institution’s decision- making process” is routinely invoked to refuse the access to legislative preparatory documents, which risks that exceptions to public access to documents become the de facto rule;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 c (new)
Paragraph 8 c (new)
8 c. Encourages the European Commission and the European Parliament to truthfully evaluate the effectiveness and efficacy of the subsidiarity procedure in order to identify its weaknesses and address them; stresses the importance of timely and adequate information provision from the EU to national and regional parliaments to ensure that consulted parliaments are proactively made aware and requested to respond, including to public consultations; suggests that the European Commission takes a more active role in following-up with and consulting national and regional parliaments; believes that a more rigorous process will lead to a strengthening of the interaction between the different levels of policy-making;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Highlights the need to develop additional tools to assess the environmental impacts of new policies, initiatives and legislation where existing tools are insufficient, in order to ensure that the far-reaching green ambitions of the von der Leyen Commission, together with its focus on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, will be more prominent in the Commission’s impact assessments;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9 b. Stresses furthermore that impact assessments are a tool to help reaching well-informed decisions in the legislative decision-making process and must not lead to undue delays in decision-making or hinder political decisions in a context of green and digital transition to answer global challenges; highlights that such processes should take into consideration economic, environmental, gender and social impacts in an integrated and balanced way and use both qualitative and quantitative analyses, as well as addressing the costs of non- harmonisation at EU level;
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Underlines that ‘strategic foresight’ could play a key role in helping to future- proof EU policy-making by ensuring that short-term initiatives are grounded in a longer-term perspective; acknowledges that ‘foresight elements’ will be fully integrated into the Commission’s better regulation agenda, in impact assessments and evaluations; notes, too, that ‘strategic foresight’ will support the REFIT programme, which identifies opportunities to reduce regulatory burdens and ensure that existing EU laws remain ‘fit for the future’; recalls that making regulation which is ‘fit for the future’ above all entails ensuring its economic, social, and environmental sustainability;
Amendment 87 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Supports the Commission’s commitment to ‘ex ante evaluation’ before considering possible legislative changes; believes that the European Union and the authorities of the Member States should continue to work closely together to ensure better evaluation of the real impact of EU regulations on citizens, on the economy, on the structure of the society and on the environment; welcomes also national parliaments’ input to ex ante evaluation via informal political dialogue;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Supports the Commission's commitment to policy reviews and encourages greater use of ex post assessment to ensure lessons are learnt on effectiveness and benefits of legislation, that in turn can help inform future policy development and improve regulation approaches;
Amendment 104 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. WelcomeUnderstands the objective behind the ‘“one-in, one-out’ approach based on stakeholder involvement, through which the Commission aims to offset newly introduced burdens by relieving people and businesses of equivalent burdens at EU level in the same policy area; emphasises, however, that the implementation of this approach should not lead to mechanical decisions to repeal legislation or lower standard” principle in that of avoiding inappropriate burdens; is however concerned, that the implementation of this approach might run counter the objectives of good regulation, and emphasises that it should not lead to mechanical decisions to repeal legislation or lower standards; is of the opinion that a thorough impact assessment must equally be conducted for any potential repeal, to avoid unexpected consequences and undesirable effects;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Stresses that, while additional unnecessary administrative burdens should be avoided in designing, transposing and implementing EU acts, this should not be translated into deregulation or “no-regulation” nor prevent Member States from maintaining or taking more ambitious measures and adopting higher social, environmental and consumer protection standards in cases where only minimum standards are defined by Union law;
Amendment 111 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Stresses that an open, efficient, transparent and independent administrative and legislative decision making processes are preconditions to high-quality policies and regulation; emphasizes that the introduction of harmonised administrative procedures would contribute positively to good governance and regulatory practices in the EU and reinforce the connection between expert decision-making and democratic legitimacy;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 c (new)
Paragraph 14 c (new)
14 c. Recalls that in its resolutions of 15 January 2013, 9 June 2016 and 20 January 2021, the Parliament called for the adoption of a regulation on an open, efficient and independent EU administration under Article 298 of the TFEU, and notes that this request has not been followed up by a Commission proposal; calls, therefore, once again on the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal on a European law of administrative procedure, taking into account the steps taken so far by Parliament in this field;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes, in this regard, the establishment by the Commission of the Fit for Future Platform, a high-level expert group with the participation of various stakeholders, Member State experts, and representatives of the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee, which advises the Commission on how to identify potentially burdensome existing EU legislation and how to simplify and modernise it, including through digitalisationefficiently achieve the objectives laid down in existing EU legislation and how to modernise it, including through digitalisation, in order to ensure EU laws help, not hinder, EU citizens and businesses; recommends that the Fit for Future Platform identify and explore legislation that runs counter the European Green Deal and wider sustainable development goal objectives, including by adopting a ‘think sustainability first’ approach in the Better Regulation Guidelines;
Amendment 123 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission; calls on the Commission to take it into account in the drafting of its announced Communication on better regulation.