Question
asked Her Majesty's Government:Further to the Written Answer by Lord Davies of Oldham on 15 May (WA 23), how they intend to fulfil their commitment to European regulatory reform bearing in mind that the United Kingdom has only 8 per cent of the votes in the Council of Ministers.
Answer
The UK’s commitment to an ambitious regulatory reform agenda in Europe is shared by the European Commission and other member states. With strong UK encouragement, particularly through our presidency of the EU, the Commission has begun to deliver a comprehensive strategy to reform Europe’s approach to regulation which encompasses reducing administrative burdens, simplifying existing legislation and withdrawing pending proposals that do not support the jobs and growth agenda. The UK has continued to advance this agenda. EU leaders recently agreed at the 2007 spring European Council the Commission’s target to cut administrative burdens stemming from EU legislation by 25 per cent by 2012. We will continue to work with forthcoming presidencies to make further progress on delivering regulatory reform.