Day: 28 January 2020

Some Useful References Documents The European Commission detail their inner workings and thinking in a number of documents. Most of them are public. President’s Political Guidelines (link) Work Programme (to be added) Working Methods (link)   Rules of Procedure (link) Manual of Operating Procedures of the Commission (not public) Commissioner’s Oath (link) Staff Regulations (link) … Read more

Better Regulation – A Guidebook   A core reference text is the Better Regulation Guidelines and Toolbox. It is a handy set of guidelines that cover the entire policy cycle. Including:  Planning and political validation of initiatives, Impact assessment, Stakeholder consultation, Monitoring and evaluation, Legal drafting and Implementation plans Further granularity is provided in Toolbox. … Read more

  The European Commission’s policy and legislative agenda do not emerge from the ether.   There is a well-structured process for deciding on the political priorities and setting the policy and legislative agenda.   They derive from: European Council Strategic Agenda  President-elect’s Political Guidelines Mission Letters Work Programme Department 5-year Strategic Plan  Department annual Management … Read more

Impact Assessment   Note: This is not updated to take into account the new Working Methods. An impact assessment is required for Commission initiatives that are likely to have significant economic, environmental or social impacts. Work for major initiatives can begin once political validation by the First Vice President, Vice President, Commissioner and in close … Read more