Question
Can the Commission indicate what proportion of the legislation in its 2015 Work Programme consists of proposals to amend, update or adapt existing EU legislation, rather than to legislate in new fields?
Answer
The Commission Work Programme (CWP) 2015 [COM(2014) 910 final] reflects the Commission’s commitment to prioritise its work and to strengthen better regulation.
Annex I of the CWP 2015 sets out a focused list of 23 new initiatives, both legislative and non-legislative, which the Commission will deliver in 2015. As regards legislative initiatives, items 1 (investment plan), 10 (resolution of financial institutions other than banks) and 13 (exchange of information on cross-border tax rulings) clearly entail new initiatives and not changes to existing legislation. The list also includes key initiative, such as the digital single market or the aviation package, which consist of a number of elements including a framework communication and new legislation or changes to existing legislation.
In relation to the 80 items in Annex II of the CWP 2015 (list of withdrawals or modifications of pending proposals), the Commission has decided to modify three pending proposals.
Finally, among the 79 items of Annex III (REFIT actions), there are 10 repeals and 11 changes to existing proposals, including simplification and codification initiatives.
The Commission will be publishing in the coming weeks the timing of all initiatives planned for 2015 together with the corresponding roadmaps, which will provide additional information about the preparation of the initiatives and next steps in the preparatory process.
