1. EPAN – DG Troika secretariat Directors and Experts of Better Regulation
Luxembourg,7th January 2005

2. Mid-term program 2004-2005 of the DEBR
In particular, the Group will focus on the areas of:
Impact Assessment
Consultation
Simplification
Access to Regulation
Transposition
Effective Structures
In its work, the Directors and Experts of Better Regulation will also seek to:
support the strengthening of the structures, both formal and informal, for Better Regulation across the EU, including effective implementation of the Inter Institutional Agreement on Better Regulation;
take account of the enlargement of the EU, place particular emphasis on the views and priorities of the new Member States.
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

3. DEBR in Luxembourg on December 9th and 10th 2004 Main topics of the Agenda
General introduction by Mr Dieudonné Mandelkern
Implementation of the recommandations of the Mandelkern report in the new Member States
Future role of the DEBR
Presentations by the General Secretariat and the DG-Enterprise of the EU Commission
Presentation by the OECD on the recent work concerning the « Independent Regulatory Authorities »
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

4. Future role of the DEBR
The DEBR will continue to discuss two types of issues: exchange of national practices and issues at the EU level. The DEBR performs an advocacy role, promoting best practices and initiating new thinking. The exchange of national practices is a unique task, in the sense that it is not done in quite the same way elsewhere in the EU-framework.
The EU level issues do have other stages, most importantly the Council Working Group on Competitiveness and Growth. Overlap should be avoided. However, better regulation is not an institutionalised issue in the working group and the national representatives participating in its meetings are mostly not the national experts. This severely limits the possibilities to have in-depth discussions in this group that can further our agenda.
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

5. Future role of the DEBR
The DEBR is capable of adding value to the EU level debate by staging a dialogue about issues that are not on the official EU agenda yet. Participants should be able to speak freely on such issues, not necessarily representing official national positions and not being committed to the outcome of discussions. In order to be able to have such discussions participants need to know the latest state of play. For that reason, the DEBR should continue to perform an information sharing role for EU level issues.
The DEBR as an informal group should not perform a monitoring role vis-à-vis the Commission. The DEBR was given a mandate from the Ministers of Public Administration to monitor the implementation of the Mandelkern report on their behalf.
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

6. Future role of the DEBR
The DEBR does not need and should not have an official working program, beyond the very general focus agreed at the Rome meeting in 2003, as this would reduce the flexibility of its operation and would also jeopardise the informal character of its meetings by demanding concrete and timely results, which is not in line with the informal exchange of thoughts that is envisaged.
The continued sponsorship of projects by the DEBR is a useful way of progressing work between meetings. Such projects on issues of joint concern to the participants can be pursued in smaller groups and reported at plenary meetings of the DEBR. However, because of its low frequency meetings, the DEBR cannot and should not aim to become the sole sponsor of multilateral initiatives.
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

7. Future role of the DEBR
The DEBR is an informal meeting, and should therefore not formally be tied in with Presidency planning. However, there is benefit in sticking to the arrangement made at the DEBR meeting in Paris in 2000 that the country holding the Presidency has the first rights to host DEBR meeting(s). If it waives this right, other countries may offer to host a meeting instead. The host country will have considerable discretion to arrange the meeting as it sees fit, including the right to set the agenda and chair proceedings (or ask others to chair it for them).
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

8. Current projects
RIA Study - first phase: report made by Formez to compare 10 Member States where exists an institutional effort aimed at promoting and strengthening regulatory reform through RIA
RIA Study - second phase: to produce an RIA on the national implementation of a proposed EU Directive: the Groundwater Directive was chosen
Standard Cost model and VAT study: Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

9. Resolution of the DG’s Maastricht 22nd and 23rd November 2004
1. The Directors General note the positive outcome of the constructive work that the group of Directors of Better Regulation has undertaken.
2. They welcome the progress reported during the Irish and the Dutch Presidencies.
3. The Directors General express their continued interest in the activities of the DEBR-group and welcome in this respect the initiative of the Luxembourg Presidency to entrust Mr Mandelkern to make an inventory of all the groups working on this subject at the European level, in order to deliver a first report on the state of play of (all) the written recommendations since November 2001.
4. They underline that this work has to be compatible with the scope of the activities of the EU on Better Regulation.
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation

10. Next DEBR Meeting On March 17th and 18th 2005 in London
EPAN, DG Troika secretariat,
Directors and Experts on Better Regulation