EU Regulations to Stimulate Demand

dirlab — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 10:24:55 +0000

There will be no true economic recovery without increased internal demand. This requires both private and public demand to take up the slack in production capacity and kick-start the virtuous cycle.

Improved implementation of EU regulations provides an alternative to a recovery based on increasing purchasing power, and the potential risk of a deficit in the trade balance. They represent a considerable existing resource to mobilise unused production capacity. These Regulations influence all economic sectors and determine the design, distribution and consumption of products and services. This results not only from technical regulations but also from standards, codes of conduct and quality declarations as employed in new initiatives over the two last decades. As the European Commission has frequently underlined, the implementation of new laws generates new demand and new resources.

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The crisis has disrupted national economies and cost Europe hundreds of billions. It is in no small measure the result of poor administration, such as incorrect application of existing regulations and standards, flaws in the supervision of financial markets, lack of transparency, and inability of the responsible bodies to respond. Recovery is intimately linked to regulation. Belief that a new legal regime will prevent the repetition of such a crisis has not yet been secured. It is nevertheless the main precondition for a quick and efficient recovery.

The crisis is also the result of unjustified costs of implementing laws. According to the Commission, the consequence of the unwarranted and counter-productive burden represents 150 billion euros of lost growth each year, which is equivalent to 10 millions new jobs. Implementation measures should be carried out by centres closer to the realities of the field. Stake-holders should be more involved in the implementation process. In this connection, experts from the EU’s ‘Better Legislation’ programme require the immediate introduction of new measures to implement European legislative acts.

The time needed for the effective implementation of European regulations largely explains the duration of the crisis. In 2008, 467 cases of late transposition were registered in the EU and 1298 procedures were opened against Member States for infringement of EU regulations. Directives are the source of 70% of national laws. Commission reports show that few directives are effectively implemented. With some notable exceptions, and despite progress realised more recently, most Member States perform rather poorly in this area.

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The DIRLAB Company has developed Computer-assisted Transposition (CaT) software providing much more efficient support for implementation.

CaT guarantees the transparency of the implementation process: participative norms require the collaboration of all stakeholders in the implementation process. The CaT Certifier ensures that these norms are applied and that all the steps in the process are recorded in the implementation database. The views and opinions of representatives and financial experts wishing to emphasise the risks inherent in some UCITS (Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities) are recorded by CaT.
CaT means effectiveness: decisions of governing bodies concerning the economy must be efficiently implemented and continuously adapted to the needs of the field. The in-built process of CaT ensures that the government plans annually, together with stakeholders, to determine clear and measurable goals, to allocate resources, assess the results and continuously improve the implementation of regulations (Plan Do Check Act).
CaT certifies speed and consistency: draft legislation is prepared and available within a few hours of downloading the texts to be harmonised. Most of the transposition time is dedicated to debating implementation with stake-holders. The protocol of the software allows the certifier to verify with certainty the conformity of the transposed legislation with the reference text, and the quality control procedure. The conformity of national measures can be guaranteed even before notification to the Commission in Brussels. CaT, by affording a complete overview of the transposition and implementation carried out in other regions and Member States, promotes harmonisation through best practice.

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This new tool for good governance is in the spirit of all the steps which Europe is now taking towards the revival of its economy and the dissemination of universal requirements and especially the protection of the Planet.

Blog de la transposition des directives européennes

EU Regulations to Stimulate Demand

There will be no true economic recovery without increased internal demand. This requires both private and public demand to take up the slack in production capacity and kick-start the virtuous cycle.