Brussels – The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed a “Pact against gold-plating”, that is, against Member States adding further requirements to national legislation beyond those laid down by EU law. The proposal is set out in a letter to Heads of State and Government sent today (12 October), which refers to the announcement made in last month’s State of the Union address. The aim, she writes, is “to turn the commitments we have all made into coordinated action at European level and, above all, at national level.”
Von der Leyen highlights the work already carried out by the Commission: twelve Omnibus packages and other simplification measures with potential savings of €22.3 billion a year, the EU Inc. proposal to make life easier for businesses, and the Public Procurement Act to streamline procurement. “However, this ambition and effort must be shared by every Member State,” she warns, because simplicity “must be reflected at national level, so that burdens are not added later on.”
At the heart of the Pact is a premise: “A rule agreed at European level must not become more complex when transposed or implemented at national level.” The first commitment concerns putting an end to unnecessary burdens. When transposing EU law, Member States should declare and justify any additions they make, indicating their impact on businesses and the single market, and put in place effective national policies, which could include the “comply or explain” principle, public statements, systematic risk assessments or explicit political endorsement. The Commission, the President announced, will favour regulations and greater harmonisation, leaving fewer national options where they might lead to fragmentation, and will provide guidelines and roadmaps for transposition.
The second commitment concerns existing barriers. The declaration would establish a “review and removal” mechanism within the European Semester: the Commission would work with Member States to identify priority areas where national requirements burden or hinder cross-border activity, and governments would commit to simplifying or removing them. Targeted consultations would give businesses, particularly SMEs, a direct say. The results would feed into the European Semester country reports and, where appropriate, into country-specific recommendations, with annual reviews. “We will measure success by the amount of red tape cut and the time and money saved by businesses,” writes von der Leyen.
The President warns that “where national requirements infringe EU law, the Commission will take firm action,” including through infringement proceedings. She therefore proposes to begin work on the Pact at this European Council and to sign the declaration at a meeting before the end of 2026, because “our businesses need the full potential of the single market to compete in a world that will not wait.”
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
