b'BRUSSELS SPROUTSBY: CESAR GONZALEZHOW COMPLEX IT IS TO SIMPLIFYW hen the elephants fight, thebusinesses in the EU by 25%) and initiativesgoals and scope, and more importantly, grass gets trampled. This(the High Level Group of Independentleading by example (reviewing its own leg-proverb illustrates how con- Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens).islation) and in consultation with the sectors flicts between powerful entities often harmPresident Juncker slowed down the adop- affected. As I see it, this is an extremely those caught in between. tion of new EU legislation (although notpositive and promising shift, and a brave A year ago, Mario Draghi presentedsignificantly), committed to identify redmovement from the Commission side. his report: The Future of Europeantape that could be swiftly removed andHowever, looking at our own sector Competitiveness, emphasising the needintroduced mechanisms to avoid admin- and the constellation of stakeholders around to simplify rules and reduce regulatoryistrative burden beforehand (grosso modo,us, reactions to this initiative vary. Some burdens for businesses in the EU to gainthe Better regulation package as we knowfeel it does not go far enough, lacking meas-competitiveness (the rising weight of reg- it today). Von der Leyens first mandate sawures for deregulation, while others see it as ulation). Following this, the Commissiona resurgence in legislative proposals buta potential threat to the application of the launched an ambitious agenda to stream- lacked a concrete simplification agenda. precautionary principle and environmental line EU policies and laws, to make businessDraghis findings suggest that min- protection. Between these extremes are easier and faster in Europe. imal progress in reducing administrativesome stakeholders truly willing to engage, A quick search on the internet showsburdens has been achieved in the past 20with different levels of readiness.that terms like simplification, admin- years (if at all). This suggests to me thatOver the past months, we have seen istrative burden, and red tape havecutting red tape may not have been the realhow actively engaging in this exercise, is appeared in nearly every Commissionobjective. not so easy. It requires (and will require) a mandate over the past two decades, alwaysComing back to the elephant metaphorcertain effort to self-assess current practices recognised as barriers to competitiveness.and keeping other considerations aside (theand operations and link them to existing Yet, despite this recognition, there has nottendency to regulate is strong in Europe. Aslegislation, to come with real and functional been meaningful progress on this matter.the saying goes: The U.S. innovates, Chinasolutions to improve EU legislation.And why is this so? replicates, and the EU regulates). I believeFor this new approach to be success-Examining the legislative historythat the ongoing power struggle betweenful for the plant breeding and seed sector, reveals that the volume of new EU laws hasthe Commission and Member States (whenit will require a longer-term commitment remained relatively stable over the differentthe elephants fight) over legislative controlfrom the Commission (one mandate might mandates, with only the approach to sim- seems to be the underlying issue. Effortsnot be enough), an effort from the sector to plification evolving. to address administrative burden were anchange the mindset and include it in the During Barrosos time as presidentattempt to minimise the known conse- daily work, and, very importantly, a simi-of the European Commission (2004 toquences on competitiveness of this dispute,lar exercise to happen at national/regional 2014), the Commission made aand EU companies were the grasslevel, where there are clear differences in notable use of its legisla- that gets trampled. the way certain Member States approach tive powers (it is probablyWhatsdifferentinthis issue.the most prolific period inthe current mandate is theThis is not an offer that we receive very terms of new legislation),Commissions commitmentoften, and I truly believe that we should try and the focus of simplifica- to place simplification at theto do our best to get the most out of this tion was to request Membercore of its agenda, aimingopportunity. States to avoid over-transpo- to reduce red tape without sition (gold-plating) of EUcompromising legislativeCsar Gonzlez is Manager of Public Affairs legislation at national level.at EuroseedsThere were even some concrete goals (such as cutting unneces-sary administrative burden for NOVEMBER 2025|SEEDWORLD.COM/EUROPEISEED WORLD EUROPE I 31'