Legislative and administrative simplification: Report by the group of independent experts known as MOLITOR group

OBJECTIVE : this report has been drafted by the group of independent experts on legislative and administrative simplification set up by the Commission in September 1994 in order to examine the impact on employment and competitiveness of and, if necessary, reduce and simplify Community and national legislation. The group's report is not binding on the Commission. CONTENT: the report notes that excess regulation stifles growth, reduces competitiveness and deprives Europe of jobs. On the basis of this finding, there is cause to review regulatory frameworks with a view to improving competitiveness and attaining employment objectives. The Member States and the EU need to act together here, given that regulation comes under the jurisdiction of both the Community and the national authorities and that, in some cases, it is the transposition of Community legislation into national law which constitutes the main obstacle to competitiveness and employment. A simplification programme, possibly resulting in deregulation, therefore needs to encompass all current legislation and its transposition into national law. The report puts forward a huge action programme with 18 proposals for action based on the following principles: - wealth and sustained growth in employment can only be achieved if the European economy has a global dimension; - objectives need to be realistic, taking account of the demands of competitiveness, and must be based on objective needs; - enterprises, workers and consumers should be consulted and should take an active part in setting out suitable objectives and evaluating the most efficient means of achieving them; - express account should be taken of the impact of direct regulation (at both individual and collective level) on competitiveness and employment when drafting and revising legislation; - simplification, or even deregulation, should form an integral part of policies designed to boost competitiveness. In conclusion, the group considers that the report should help to create a culture of simplification leading, if necessary, to deregulation - securely anchored at EU and Member State level - to stimulate competitiveness and employment. �