1. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 1 Administrative Simplification in France: a long-term effort Charles-Henri Montin (France)* www.smartregulation.net charles-henri.montin@finances.gouv.fr * These slides are for information and discussion and do not present an official French position. They cannot validly be interpreted without complements given at delivery.

2. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 2 Contents The key concepts of the French approach The actors, objectives and the techniques Recent developments with the “choc de simplification” (2013) OECD remarks

3. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 3 Simplification: the French approach Concepts (specific) applied in France: Modernisation de l’action publique Quality of the Law (qualité du droit) Simplification of the law, including reduction of administrative burdens Reduction of normative inflation Codification Administrative simplification (for users, businesses) including curbing bureaucratic language Relations between the administration and users (law of 12 April 2000) Quality of Service

4. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 4 Actors of the simplification policy  The Legislator Enacting simplification laws (6 since 2003) Main user of Impact assessment scheme (constitutional reform 2008)  The Executive Comité interministériel pour la modernisation de l’action publique (CIMAP) since December 2012CIMAP The Conseil d’Etat as guardian of the quality of normative textsConseil d’Etat The senior official in charge of simplification (within SGG): mandate in circulaire 19/2/2013circulaire 19/2/2013 All ministries contributing (ex: law on modernisation of the economy, egovernment projects)

5. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 5 Objectives of the simplification policy The overriding concern: contain normative inflation Legal certainty (see 2006 public report of the State Council), less emphasis on the pursuit of economic efficiency (according to OECD)2006 public report of the State Council Competitiveness of the economy Simplification as a component of the overall review of public policies (RGPP) then of Modernisation of Public Action (MAP): transformation of government from the inside, reducing the fiscal cost, optimizing the efficiency of the administration Integrated with the user-relations dimension, through innovative public services and quality In technical terms, France distinguishes simplifying legislation and simplification of formalities (cutting red tape)

6. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 6 Identifying promising simplifications Three techniques to select simplification themes  Offer ministries a « vector » to achieve rapid legislative changes, sometimes as a « habilitation » (delegation of legislative authority to government) Main risk: use by ministries of the vector to promote substantive agenda Advantage: ministries cooperate Downside: a heavy process: annual reports, proposal fiches, PM arbitration, parliamentary procedure, etc  Large scale sustainable consultation of stakeholders: « Assises de la simplification » 2006 and 2011 Experience of standing consultative body (COSA)COSA Web-based consultation: « ensemble simplifions » from DGME );ensemble simplifions New consultation manual (2013) « Consulter pour mieux réglementer »Consulter pour mieux réglementer  Wide-scale measurement and reengineering of administrative procedures according to the SCM, to achieve significant economic results (2006-2011).

7. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 7 Legal techniques to simplify the body of legislation Legistics and good legislative drafting (“qualité du droit”) as core competence of policy makersLegistics qualité du droit Drafting in plain language: simplification du langage administratifsimplification du langage administratif Elimination of obsolete or outdated standards ("anti-law") Extensive codification operationscodification Exemptions from formal obligations for specific end-users Reducing the number of advisory bodies (circulaire 30/11/2012) and 101 suppressions (council of ministers 22 May 2013)circulaire 30/11/2012council of ministers 22 May 2013 Extension of tacit decision (lex silencio) : “le silence de l’administration vaut accord” 10/7/2013le silence de l’administration vaut accord “Interprétation facilitatrice”, circular 2/4/2013Interprétation facilitatrice Consolidated access to the body of norms (Légifrance site) and circularsLégifrance

8. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 8 « Le choc de simplification » Headline goal of the Comité interministériel pour la modernisation de l’action publique: see second meeting 2 April 2013 meeting 2 April 2013 Wider scope than previous policy (RGPP), to include social security and local authorities Attuned to the expectations and support of the civil service Supplement to the « choc de compétitivité » under the same growth strategy

9. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 9 Priorities for delivery Quote from the mission of the senior official in charge: “Drive the moratorium on new regulation on local authorities (since July 2010) Make sure RIAs are conducted on new regulation affecting local authorities and businesses Assist ministries in quantifying the impact of new regulations Apply common commencement dates (January 1st or July 1st) on regulation concerning business Make sure a delay of two months is given between enacting and enforcing new legislation.”

10. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 10 Key current policy circular dated 17/02/2011 « on simplifying norms concerning business and local government » Objectives of Parliament and Government : Better control of normative inflation. Preserve the competitiveness of businesses by simplifying and stabilizing the legal framework. Reduce public spending by controlling the cost imposed by the regulations. Implementing the policy : Identify measures to reduce burdens on companies and local authorities Avoid gold plating of EU directives or national laws (for implementing decrees).

11. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 11 Recent developments CIMAP of 18 December 2012 Decision 15: - Extension of RIA to all regulatory texts - Develop and open online consultation Decision 18: pluriannual simplification programme CIMAP of April 2, 2013 Decision 16: “One-in, one out” to curb normative inflation (circular to be published second half July) Decision 17: Apply regulatory best practice: - avoid gold plating of EU directives - apply the principle of proportionality/ boost legal security - involve local services in drafting implementing instructions Decision 18: Strengthening RIA -closer scrutiny of burden on local government and services -better scrutiny of impact of EU texts - better implementation of proportionality

12. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 12 Future trends ? Two parliamentary reports to inspire the Government: Rapport de la mission de lutte contre l’inflation normative (26/3/2013) MPs Alain Lambert & Jean- Claude Boulard: “hunting down absurd regulation”Rapport de la mission de lutte contre l’inflation normative Rapport « Mieux simplifier: la simplification collaborative » (7/2013, not yet published):  Start from business expectations  Set 3-year target for -80% of burdens on business  Close central monitoring by PMO  Associate Parliament in the Better Regulation policy  Court of audit to evaluate results annually

13. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 13 OECD « Better Regulation France 2010» (flow) RIA scheme imposes stringent constitutional requirement; first months are encouraging The system does not clearly incorporate public consultation procedures and does not sufficiently draw attention to the option of maintaining the status quo. The right balance must be struck when determining the system's scope and the proportionality of the effort devoted to impact assessment. Integrate economists into the teams in charge of impact assessment. Regularly update method. Set up a common training programme for ministries to promote culture change. Evaluate the implementation of impact assessment in a regular and detailed way. Publish these evaluations.

14. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 14 OECD « Better Regulation France 2010» (stock) Establish a clear and comprehensive strategy to address the challenges of legislative simplification Review practical arrangements, multi-level coordination, common approach, communication Net target for reduction of burdens Better communication with business Evaluate effectiveness of the scheme to deliver results Continue the roll out of one-stop-shop network for business

15. C.H. Montin, 15 July 2013, Madrid 15 Further study This presentation is online with hyperlinks on blog: http://smartregulation.net/p/publications.html http://smartregulation.net/p/publications.html With 84 posts giving news about France (to 15/7/2013) Full-text article on “Better Regulation in France” in “Verso la Smart Regulation in Europa” Maggioli, 2013Better Regulation in FranceVerso la Smart Regulation in Europa Documents quoted OECD Better Regulation in Europe 2010: FranceBetter Regulation in Europe 2010: France Report from Conseil d’Etat 2006Conseil d’Etat 2006 Guide de Légistique