Better Environmental Regulation: Opportunities for Policy Dialogue Brendan Gillespie Head, EAP Task Force Secretariat OECD Belgrade, 11 October 2007

Outline Why regulatory reform? Main trends in OECD countries Reform efforts in EECCA Priority areas for action in EECCA

Why regulatory reform? Regulation necessary but should be efficient and effective is linked to competitiveness, growth and employment and to the rule of law and anti-corruption For regulators: complexity; lack of priorities; sticks rather than carrots; process rather than results; insufficient means For regulatees: complexity; lack of information; duplicative demands; burden on scarce resources especially for SMEs Regulatory reform initiatives: e.g. NL, UK, EC

Main Trends in OECD countries Compulsory use of Regulatory Impact Assessment Simplification of the regulatory framework Reduction of administrative burden on businesses Risk-based targeting of compliance assurance Cross-media integration of environmental regulation Improvement the proportionality of enforcement Greater emphasis to compliance assurance Shift to outcome-oriented performance measurement

Reform Efforts in EECCA 2003 adoption by EAP Task Force of: Guiding Principles for Reform of Environmental Enforcement Authorities in Transition Economies Guiding Principles of Effective Environmental Permitting Systems (2007) Improving environmental regulatory requirements (e.g. Environmental Code in Kazakhstan) Environmental permitting reform (e.g. plans for integrated permitting in Ukraine, Kazakhstan) Increased compliance promotion (e.g. performance rating in Russia, Ukraine) Integrated, better targeted inspections (e.g. in Georgia, Kazakhstan)

Priority Areas for Action in EECCA Increase the effectiveness of the environmental policy framework Improve compliance assurance strategies and performance management Better use preventative instruments to promote compliance Continue institutional strengthening