Better Regulation aims to simplify complex procedures and legislation, reduce the bureaucracy and administrative burden, which citizens and businesses shoulder during their daily transactions with the State. European Commission with its communication paper on 29/4/2021 entitled: "Better regulation: Joining forces to make better laws", it proposes several improvements to the EU legislative process. To promote Europe's recovery, it is more important than ever for the EU to legislate as effectively as possible, while making its legislation better suited to tomorrow's needs.
The need to improve the Regulatory Framework, i.e. all the regulations, institutions and actions that interact for the implementation and monitoring of the laws and regulations that regulate the operation of the State, is necessary to improve the business environment and strengthen their competitiveness, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises and is constantly highlighted in discussions with organized groups and private bodies, while it is also ranked as one of the main obstacles to attracting investment in research among foreign investors.
In Cyprus, with a Council of Ministers decision, (Decision No. 90.126, dated October 7, 2020), the responsibility for the Better Regulation was given to the Directorate General for Growth.
In the context of assuming this competence by DG Growth, the following actions are in the process of implementation at national and European level:
- Preparation of an Action Plan and progress reports for the Improvement of the Better Regulation in Cyprus.
- Monitoring the progress of individual actions by the Ministries/Departments and implementation of horizontal actions
- Monitoring the revised Impact Assessment (IA) framework in the legislative process: Impact Assessment and Consultation Guidelines, Impact Assessment Questionnaires
- Design and development of an integrated system for legislation Drafting at all stages of the legislative process (e-Legislation Platform)
- Design and development of an online public consultation platform (eConsultation platform)
- Development of a website for the Improvement of the Better Regulation in Cyprus
- Representation of Cyprus and active participation in European forums and networks such as:
- Fit4Future Platform
- Better Regulation Network
- Working Party on Competitiveness and Growth
- Participation in investigative missions of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)