Commission proposes plan for simpler, clearer and better enforced EU rules

The European Commission today presented its plan to modernise EU lawmaking, ensuring that laws are clearer, simpler, more efficiently enforced, based on solid evidence and better aligned with the needs of citizens and businesses.

Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, said: "Europe needs clear and coherent legislation that fully responds to the needs of our citizens and businesses. Today, we deliver our plan to make EU lawmaking more efficient, more effective, and more transparent. We will apply simplicity by design and continue to ensure every rule is supported by strong evidence. But that's not all: we will also tackle gold-plating, speed up enforcement and clean up our current stock of legislation. This is a critical contribution to bolster our competitiveness."

The Commission will act in five areas:

• Simplicity by design: EU laws must be easy to understand, apply and enforce. The Commission aims to embed ‘simplicity by design' into every proposal, ensuring clarity on who must act, how to comply, and the consequences of non-compliance.
• Strengthening the better regulation framework: the better regulation system sets out the principles that the European Commission follows when preparing new initiatives. It is already among the most advanced in the world. It will be further improved to enhance transparency, stakeholder engagement and efficiency.
• Regulatory deep cleaning: while the Union continues to pursue ambitious policies, it must also put its large stock of existing legislation in order. An Action Plan will tackle inconsistencies, overlapping and overly complex provisions in 12 priority areas.
• Tackling regulatory gold-plating: the Commission will help Member States identify and tackle unnecessary complexity and barriers to the Single Market where they apply stricter or more extensive requirements than those set out in EU law.
• Faster, robust enforcement: the Commission will strengthen enforcement of the Single Market rulebook in selected policy areas. A focus will also be placed on reducing the number of long-standing infringement cases.

At a time of profound global shifts, an efficient and effective regulatory framework is essential for European competitiveness. Simpler, better-designed, and easier-to-implement rules will therefore help to unlock economic potential and promote a more dynamic and integrated Single Market.

The European Parliament and the Council are essential partners in helping to make the objectives outlined in this Communication a reality. To that end, the Commission calls on the co-legislators to ensure that 'simplicity by design' and better regulation principles are applied consistently, by each Institution, during every legislative process.

Today's Communication builds on President von der Leyen's Political Guidelines for 2024-2029, the commitments she made at the Leaders' Retreat on 12 February 2026, and the Communication ‘A Simpler and Faster Europe'.

For more information

Questions and Answers

Factsheet listing key actions under the Communication

Better regulation: guidelines and toolbox

Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions

Quote(s)

Europe needs clear and coherent legislation that fully responds to the needs of our citizens and businesses. Today, we deliver our plan to make EU lawmaking more efficient, more effective, and more transparent. We will apply simplicity by design and continue to ensure every rule is supported by strong evidence. But that’s not all: we will also tackle gold-plating, speed up enforcement and clean up our current stock of legislation. This is a critical contribution to bolster our competitiveness.

President Ursula von der Leyen

Since taking office, this Commission has stepped up efforts to simplify EU rules. Today’s strategy signals the EU’s determination to further increase the quality of lawmaking in Europe. Outdated, excessive or overlapping laws must be detected and corrected. New proposals need to be more focused, implementable and enforceable. This is simplification in practice. We call on the European Parliament and the Council to join us in this essential effort. The EU exists to deliver results for our citizens and businesses, not to create red tape. Our rules must be a means to an end, supporting our efforts to build a competitive, innovative and sustainable social market economy.

Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner for Economy and Productivity; Implementation and Simplification