Cluster 3 better regulation
(practicability & Enforceability)

impel-tfs-hmp

History

“Effective enforcement needs a good legal base” was the final report of the IMPEL Better Legislation project. The IMPEL Better Regulation Cluster was set up after a workshop to discuss this report so it holds special significance. The report identified areas where difficulties in implementation arise from problems in the original legislation. It was suggested that there was a clear potential role for IMPEL in looking at proposals for new legislation from the point of view of enforceability and practicability and in identifying any problems with existing legislation. Subsequently the Better Regulation Cluster was established at the Amsterdam Plenary of 2004.

Scope

The cluster considers existing, new and proposed EU legislation including guidance and guidelines within the scope of the 6th EAP and related European Court of Justice decisions impacting on the regulation of industrial installations and other enterprises and facilities as defined in the RMCEI. The Cluster operates as a forum for the development, co-ordination and quality assurance of IMPEL’s work on better regulation. It works with the IMPEL General Assembly and the Commission to consider, identify and prioritise those areas of the EU’s legislative work programme where IMPEL is able to make a useful contribution.
The Cluster aims to work with the Better Regulation Interest Group (BRIG) of the Network of the Heads of Environment Protection Agencies in Europe (NEPA Network).

Objectives

The aim of the cluster is to contribute to the EU law making process to ensure that proposed European Legislation is consistent with the principles of better regulation derived from the IMPEL report on Better Legislation and is practicable and enforceable. It also seeks to identify areas where existing European legislation is not in line with those principles.

Meetings

The Cluster is an informal forum for discussion where all IMPEL countries, IMPEL secretariat and the commission are welcome to participate. It is a forum for initial discussions and development of project ideas. The Cluster discusses new project ideas and reviews the progress of projects as well as the quality of final project reports within its remit. The Cluster meets twice a year in advance of IMPEL General Assembies and provides a forum by correspondence for matters arising outside this cycle.
Commission officials are present at Better Regulation Cluster meetings. They provide updates at each meeting on future legislative proposals and relevant decisions of the European Court of Justice. Cluster meetings are held alternately in Brussels to ensure close links with the European Commission and other policy makers are maintained.

Achievements

Under responsibility of the Cluster a number of projects was carried out to inform the European Commission review of the IPPC Directive. Several project were carried out on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. A very important milestone was the development of a Practicability and Enforceability Checklist to assess new and existing legislation. This Checklist together with the Barriers to good regulation Checklist of NEPA was used to assess the IPPC Recast and WEEE Recast proposals. Recently IMPEL and NEPA joint forces and merged their checklists into the IMPEL-NEPA Better Regulation Checklist. In 2009 a project was finalised by the Cluster, on applying better regulation principles in regulatory practice.

Current and Future Work Areas

For 2010 and beyond it is foreseen that the Cluster will continue to devote its attention on the following key themes:

  • promoting the use of the Practicability and Enforceability and Barriers Checklists, developed by IMPEL and NEPA and the involvement of practitioners in the EU legislative process
  • carrying out P&E assessments, using the Checklists
  • exchanging views, ideas and experiences in improving our regulatory work (covering all regulatory stages: permitting, inspection and enforcement) and identifying good practices in this field

Read more on the 2010 Work Programme

Cluster agenda and practical information