Europese Commissie maakt werk van schrappen ontwerp-richtlijnen (en)

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG - MEPs have welcomed an initiative by the European Commission to scrap unnecessary laws in a bid to cut the red tape coming from Brussels but some have warned against scrapping social laws.

Industry commissioner Gunter Verheugen presented a plan to withdraw 68 of 183 pending directives to parliament on Tuesday (27 September).

"This screening is the first test case for the credibility of our policy for better regulation and I therefore urge you to support us", said Mr Verheugen.

He pointed out the screening has so far only affected pending proposals and its number "is far smaller than many had suspected".

In October, the commission is expected to present a method of reviewing existing laws, in what Mr Verheugen called "the biggest project in connection with better regulation", as it will involve more than 20,000 pieces of legislation.

The entire body of EU law runs to some 80,000 acts.

"What I can say at this stage is that we intend to go far beyond the work already under way to codify disparate legislative acts. We will also examine whether the legislation is in fact still needed or if it can be shaped in a more user-friendly way", he said.

Apart from a number of overdue bills, the blacklist of legislative proposals to go include sales promotion across the EU, labelling of foodstuffs, weekend bans for lorries and prescribed packet sizes for coffee.

Cutting red tape or social standards?

Most of the speakers in the parliamentary forum expressed their support for the initiative.

"It is the first bold step in this area by the commission," said the German centre-right MEP Alexander Radwan.

However, several left-wing deputies questioned the intention to get rid of some social protection laws.

"I like and support the philosophy of your de-regulation campaign, but it should not become a way to reduce social standards in the EU," said Hannes Swoboda, Austrian vice-chairman of the socialist group.

MEPs referred mainly to the commission's plan to review the directive aimed at protecting agency workers, suggesting it would be a "slap in the face of social Europe".

However, Mr Verheugen pointed out the commission has not yet decided to scrap the law, only to "review it" along with the debate on other issues, such as the services directive.

The proposal on temporary workers defines basic social rights of employees working on the short-term basis, and defines the rules for their employers.

However, it has faced stiff resistance among member states, as well as some centre-right MEPs.

"The directive in its current form would kill off many jobs and deprive citizens from their choice to work on the temporary basis. It is just the opposite of what Europe needs now," said the British Conservative MEP Philip Bushill-Mathews.