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European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Dombrovskis at the annual conference of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board Brussels, 27 October 2026 Thank you, Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, It is my pleasure join you today for the eighth annual conference of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board. We meet at a time of challenge and change. When the problems we face are increasingly...
European Commission - Speech [Check Against Delivery] Speech by Commissioner Dombrovskis at the annual conference of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board Brussels, 27 October 2026 Thank you, Chair. Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, It is my pleasure join you today for the eighth annual conference of the Regulatory Scrutiny Board. We meet at a time of challenge and change. When the problems we face are increasingly complex and interconnected. In an environment like this, the best response for policymakers is to go back to basics and ask some fundamental questions: What problem are we trying to solve? Is a policy response at EU level really necessary? Are new rules and new obligations really necessary? And if so, what are the available options, their expected costs, benefits and trade-offs? These questions may sound simple. Answering them well is not. It requires sound evidence, reliable data and rigorous analysis. And it requires us to understand the long-term and wide-ranging effects of what we propose. Because once a law is adopted, it shapes the lives of our citizens, the operations of our businesses and the functioning of our markets. Sometimes for decades. Getting it wrong is costly. Unintended consequences and poorly understood trade-offs carry a real price. They can stand in the way of what really matters. Jobs for our people. Growth for our economies. And the economic strength that protects Europe. That is why the European Commission has placed simplification at the heart of its competitiveness agenda. We have now tabled twelve major Omnibus simplification proposals, alongside other simplification initiatives, across a broad range of policy areas. Together, they could save European businesses and national administrations €22.3 billion per year, once fully implemented. That is real progress. Our simplification agenda is not all about looking back. But also how we will approach lawmaking and regulation in future. Because having driven the simplification agenda forward, I can say this with confidence: It is always better to prevent unnecessary complexity in the first place than to remove it once it has become embedded in legislation. To do so, policymakers must understand the full impact of our policy choices from day one. And that is where the Regulatory Scrutiny Board comes in. Its independent scrutiny helps ensure that the Commission's policy choices rest on robust evidence and a clear understanding of their likely consequences. Throughout this scrutiny, the Board emphasises the fundamental importance of evidence-based analysis in the diagnosis of policy problems. And the design of corresponding responses. Indeed, the Board continues to identify weaknesses in some of the most fundamental elements of impact assessments. This includes their efforts to define the problem, identify and use available data and evidence, identify credible policy options, assess their impacts, and demonstrate proportionality. These are clearly not peripheral details. Rather, they go to the heart of whether our proposals are necessary, effective and proportionate. By identifying these issues early and clearly, the Board is playing a crucial role in informing the Commission's proposals. Its added value is clearly reflected in the Board's 2025 Annual Report. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Chair and members of the Board for this work. And for their independence, professionalism and commitment to improving the quality of EU policymaking. The European Commission's commitment to getting it right from the start informed its recent strategy on Better Regulation. This strategy marks a new level of ambition for the quality of lawmaking in Europe. It modernises how EU laws are designed, implemented and enforced, while ensuring they are clear, agile, fit for purpose and supported by solid evidence. The strategy is based on five pillars: First, ‘simplicity by design', whereby simplicity is built into proposals from the earliest design stages. Proposals should be easy to understand, apply and enforce. Second, a regulatory deep cleaning that tackles fragmented rules, inconsistent and overlapping provisions, and reduces complexity. Third, tackling gold-plating, where Member States add stricter or wider rules than required by EU law, thereby creating barriers, increasing costs, and fragmenting the Single Market. Fourth, committing to a faster and more robust enforcement of EU law. And finally, strengthening the EU's better regulation system. This last pillar has already had important implications for the work of the RSB. It provides for more initiatives being accompanied by an impact assessment. By an impact assessment that focuses on what really matters. In this respect, we have introduced a “matrix of key impacts” to make impact assessments more focused, of higher quality and more relevant for policymakers. At the same time, we have extended the range of the Board's scrutiny. The Board will now perform its quality control functions on a wider range of assessments supporting policy proposals. Together, these changes strengthen the evidence base for EU action. And will help ensure that our proposals remain justified, proportionate and effective. Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude. The Regulatory Scrutiny Board will continue to play a vital role in our work. I would like to thank the organisers of today's conference, I wish all of the participants a productive and enjoyable conference. And I look forward to hearing your ideas on how we can keep raising the quality of EU lawmaking. Thank you. SPEECH/26/2273 <@rel_link@>
Speech Brief