Quite a few of our colleagues were lucky to attend, in sunny Valetta, a meeting of the Standard Cost Model (SCM) network. 22 countries and the European Commission gathered by invitation of the government of Malta to discuss current projects and future steps to perfect, on the basis of experience developped by front-runners, an improved regulatory costs methodology.
Opened by the Parliamentary Secretary Dr Michael Farrugia, the meeting heard presentations by the hosts who were able to show how much they had advanced towards a comprehensive Better Regulation agenda (see MTsite of the unit in charge) in line with European Commission guidelines, where regulatory burden reduction figures prominently. Dr. Paul DeBattista (BR unit) presented a new "Bureaucratic Cost Measurement" index which includes fees charged, if any, for permits and the cost of delays. Then several countries (GE, UK,NL, SE) and the Commission gave an update on their national experience, thus sharing best practice.
In the second part of the SCM Working Group meeting, the delegates actively participated in a workshop tackling the way forward for Compliance Costs. The discussion revolved round the issue of when a fully fledged Impact Assessment is required in estimating the impact of Compliance Costs. Here again, the organisers had selected the most relevant recent developments in European countries.
Save-the-date of next meeting: 20th September 2013 in Finland (by invitation).
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