Community legislation: simplifying and improving the regulatory environment

The European Parliament adopted a resolution based on a report drafted by Manuel MEDINA ORTEGA (PES, E) on simplifying and improving the regulatory environment. Parliament warmly welcomes the inter-institutional agreement on 'Better Lawmaking' and considers it desirable to establish a permanent inter-institutional dialogue among the Community institutions on improving the quality of legislation. It recalls that this inter-institutional dialogue concerns not only the fields covered by the inter-institutional agreement on 'Better Lawmaking', but also any other field involving the adoption of Community legislation. Parliament stresses that any future inter-institutional dialogue among the institutions regarding legislation must take due account of the principle of democratic legitimacy, of which the European Parliament is the guarantor. It demands that the Commission always consult the legislative authority when it deems self-regulation to be useful. It stresses Parliament's right to call on the Commission to submit a draft legislative act in connection with the latter's consideration of self-regulation practices, as well as its right to oppose the implementation of any self-regulation practice. It defends Parliament's right to oppose the entry into force of any draft voluntary agreement in the context of co-regulation. Lastly, it considers it essential that the Commission should not be able to override opposition expressed by Parliament or the Council to any voluntary practice in the context of self-regulation or co-regulation.�