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European Commission - Statement Op-ed by Commissioner Dombrovskis on simplification: Releasing the handbrake on Europe's growth Brussels, 13 February 2026 The European economy needs less red tape and more growth. For the past year, the European Commission has been delivering a simplification agenda that is unprecedented in both scale and ambition. The ultimate aim is to make our rules work for our citizens, businesse...
European Commission - Statement Op-ed by Commissioner Dombrovskis on simplification: Releasing the handbrake on Europe's growth Brussels, 13 February 2026 The European economy needs less red tape and more growth. For the past year, the European Commission has been delivering a simplification agenda that is unprecedented in both scale and ambition. The ultimate aim is to make our rules work for our citizens, businesses and growth. We are moving fast and with purpose. Ten far-reaching proposals are already on the table. They should deliver at least €15 billion in savings to EU companies every year. We have now done more to simplify EU rules in one year than in the previous ten combined. But this is only the beginning. We are determined not just to sustain momentum, but to accelerate it. We have lifted the simplification agenda to a new level: by the end of 2029, we will review the entire body of EU law to identify and eliminate obsolete, overlapping and unnecessary requirements. Every sector will be examined. No stone will be left unturned. This is the ‘deep house cleaning' that President von der Leyen has called for. But the European Commission cannot deliver simplification alone. EU and national institutions must match ambition with delivery, from legislation in Brussels to implementation on the ground. We must all pull in the same direction to make our regulatory system clearer, simpler, and smarter. For our part, the European Commission has put simplification at the heart of what we do. No policy area is out of bounds. Similarly to last year, most of our new proposals in 2026 will feature a strong simplification dimension. In addition, the number of implementing and delegated acts initially planned for 2026 will be reduced by 30%. But the vast majority of what the Commission adopts every year are technical implementing acts. These do not create new rules but explain how to apply existing ones. Therefore, the debate is not about counting laws; it's about whether Europe is becoming easier or harder to invest in. The urgency is clear. Today, excessive and overlapping regulatory obligations raise costs, deter investment and divert resources away from innovation. This is especially serious for smaller businesses, with limited resources to begin with. The cumulative effect is a drag on our overall productivity and growth. Simplification, by contrast, creates the conditions for dynamism. This is not an ideological claim, but a practical one. A recent OECD report highlights the essential problem: 3.9% of EU employees are engaged in compliance functions, compared with just 1.7% in research roles. Europe needs significantly more people in laboratories and significantly fewer filling in forms. The changes must be impactful, not merely cosmetic. They must make a tangible difference in the day-to-day operations of our businesses and in the lives of our citizens. That is why we are systematically engaging with practitioners through “implementation dialogues” and “reality checks” to identify what works and what must be improved. In 2025 alone, the Commission held over 50 implementation dialogues, engaging directly with more than 1,000 stakeholders from a wide range of sectors, including businesses, associations, national administrations and NGOs. When businesses feel the benefit, the European economy will too. Even small changes can scale fast. When replicated for hundreds of thousands of small companies across Europe, the aggregate time and cost savings quickly add up. Applied systematically, these gains can compound to improve Europe's overall competitive position. And the difference will also show in the labour market, creating more jobs for our citizens. Our major simplification initiative on corporate sustainability due diligence and reporting will soon become law. It will exempt more than 80% of businesses from complex or excessive reporting requirements, protecting smaller firms and refocusing due diligence obligations where they can really make a difference. It is a clear example of how smart rules can both achieve our objectives and significantly lower burdens on business. For too long, Europe's growth rates have been weaker than they could and should be. As others grow at a faster rate, Europe's economic weight is shrinking. In a world where size matters, this makes us more vulnerable and less capable of defending our values and interests. In short, it affects Europe's sovereignty. We have been trying to drive Europe's economy forward with the handbrake on. The result was predictable: Europe failed to live up to its full growth potential. Simplification is our chance to correct course, release the handbrake, and unleash Europe's full productive potential. STATEMENT/26/410
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