60 regulatory burden reduction proposals

From the first commitment of Commission President von der Leyen in March 2023 to reduce reporting obligations on businesses, Eurochambres has actively contributed to the initiative by providing concrete examples of EU initiatives considered burdensome for businesses. The chamber network is pleased to submit a new list of EU legislation to be urgently reviewed to achieve a tangible reduction in administrative burden for SMEs.

Eurochambres main messages

 The chamber network considers a balanced, proportionate and flexible regulatory environment for businesses to be a conditio sine qua non for a competitive European Union.  While some progresses in the Commission’s Better Regulation agenda were achieved over the years, the regulatory environment became unsustainable for business growth. According to the Eurochambres Economic Survey (EES2025), published in November, more and more entrepreneurs identify the complex regulatory framework as a challenge for 2025.

The chamber network welcomes the Commission commitment to reduce reporting obligations by 25%, and by 35% for SMEs. Eurochambres also welcomes the identification of regulatory burdens and EU law simplification as key priorities for the new EU term, according to high-level reports of Mr Enrico Letta and Mr Mario Draghi. The designation of a Commissioner for Implementation and Simplification to, among others, stress test the EU acquis and table proposals to eliminate any overlaps and contradictions is an important step in the right direction.

Eurochambres urges the Commission to assess the cumulative impact of legislation on SMEs and map burdensome areas before swiftly proceeding with implementing a comprehensive European regulatory burden reduction programme. With reporting obligations representing only a small part of the overall compliance costs on businesses, a more radical approach should aim at removing unnecessary bureaucracy and making Europe an attractive business and investment location.

To achieve a meaningful and tangible reduction, Eurochambres also advocates for a clear strategy and methodology, and the introduction of easily accessible information and indicators transparent monitoring and consultation on progress. As Eurochambres considers the 25% target as a starting point for a much more ambitious reduction agenda, a calibrated review of the target and objective should be performed periodically.

Legislation not drafted according to the Better Regulation principles risk harming Europe’s economy and the viability of businesses. As stressed in our recent SME Test Benchmark report 2024, the Commission services should always perform thorough impact assessments that reflect the reality on the ground and guarantee SME-proof legislation. To ensure that the lawmaking process contributes to reducing compliance costs for businesses, or, at least, avoids adding further burden, each impact assessment should list all the obligations stemming from the proposal. The Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB) should further enhance its stance whenever a negative opinion is issued. It is unfortunate, from the SME perspective, to note that the quality of a law suffers if the (negative) opinions of the RSB are ignored as a result of the political pressure to achieving an objective, disregarding the “Think Small First” principle. Moreover, given that better lawmaking is a shared responsibility, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU should be particularly attentive in the introduction of amendments and their impact on SMEs and Europe’s competitiveness.

More specifically, initiatives under the Green Deal are heavily affecting the operational capacity of millions of businesses. In particular, the uncoordinated implementation of initiatives such as CBAM, CSDDD, EUDR, and CSRD are creating a non-negligible cumulative impact on businesses, which is often reflected via the so-called “trickle-down-effect” whenever SMEs are formally exempted from a legislation. This leads to duplication and overlapping of the reporting obligations, increasing legal uncertainty for European businesses as well as foreign trading partners.

As the Commission acknowledges the complex regulatory environment created by such initiatives, Eurochambres calls for a comprehensive reconsideration of the approach adopted in preparing such legislative initiatives. While the policy objective and scope of the proposals should not be undermined,  the compliance requirements for businesses should be considerably simplified.

The list below aims at centralising suggestions from the chamber network to achieve a more flexible and manageable regulatory environment for European businesses in the areas of:

• Consumer Policy and Data Protection
• Environment and Sustainability
• Labour Policy
• Product Safety
• Trade and Customs
• Industry and Standards
• Transparency and business reporting

The list should not be considered as exhaustive and the identified burdens are not ranked according to their relevance. The first part of the list refers to already adopted legislation, while the second part identifies burden on businesses in legislative proposals at the EU level, not yet adopted.