Steering the Community Regulatory System: the Challenges Ahead

This article reviews the process of regulatory reform in the European Union (EU). The main argument is that EU initiatives have been cast in a rather narrow conceptual framework, limited to issues such as simplification and better law‐making. Although important, these issues are only a component of the wider task of governing regulation. Therefore I introduce and discuss three proposals for re‐casting the debate on EU regulation. First, the focus should be shifted from ‘better law‐making’ to ‘better regulatory policy‐making’. Second, regulatory management, rather than simplification, should represent the strategic objective of EU institutions. Third, regulatory reform should be accompanied by administrative reform. Consequently, the relative impenetrability of the Commission to administrative reform represents a serious obstacle to regulatory reform.