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• Better Regulation: On the 23rd of October 2018, the European Commission published a Communication⁷ on how to strengthen subsidiarity and proportionality in EU policy-making. The Commission will, for example, integrate the 'subsidiarity grid' proposed by the "Task Force on subsidiarity, proportionality" into all its impact assessments and explanatory memoranda; the grid is a tool to guide the analysis of subsidiarity and proportionality in a structured way. (Press release⁸)
  
  
• Task Force on Subsidiarity and Proportionality: On the 10th of July 2018, the 'Task Force on Subsidiarity and Proportionality' presented its Final Report. In it, it proposes to assess subsidiarity and proportionality more consistently by all levels of government, on the basis of a "model grid" – comparable to a subsidiarity and proportionality checklist. The new approach should be applied to the existing body of European Union legislation and to all new political initiatives. (More)
  
  
• Launch of the Task Force on Subsidiarity and Proportionality: On the 18th of January 2018, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker appointed six members to the 'Task Force on Subsidiarity, Proportionality and "Doing Less More Efficiently"'that he announced in September 2017 in his State of the Union Address. The Task Force will work under the Chairmanship of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans and will report to the President by 15 July 2018. (More)

• Entry into Force - Rules on European Political Parties and Foundations: On the 3rd of May 2018, the Regulation on the Statute and Funding of European Political Parties and European Political Foundations came into effect. (More)
• Legislative Proposal - Rules on European Political Parties and Foundations: On the 13th of September 2017 - as a follow-up to President Juncker's State of the Union Address - the European Commission published a Proposal for a Regulation amending Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 1141/2014 on the statute and funding of European political parties and European political foundations to increase their transparency, strengthen enforcement of public money abuses and to reclaim funds. (More)

Proposal - Comitology Procedure: On the 14th of February 2017, the European Commission presented a Proposal for a Regulation for a Revision of the Comitology Procedure to increase the accountability for the implementation of EU legislation. If put into law, the voting rules in the last step of the Comitology Procedure, the Appeal Committee, would no longer allow abstentions and the votes of member states' representatives would be made public. This way, the Commission aims to make national positions more transparent. Furthermore, the new Regulation would allow the Commission to make a second referral to the Appeal Committee at ministerial level if national experts do not take a position. (More)

Online Register for Delegated Acts: On the 12th of December 2017, the European Parliament, the Council and the European Commission launched a new online register to facilitate the tracking of EU decisions taken in the form of delegated acts. (More)

• On the 1st of March 2016, the European Commission launched a public consultation on a mandatory Transparency Register. During 12 weeks stakeholders, civil society and citizens are invited to introduce their ideas and suggestions in relation to the current regime for registration of interest representatives who seek to influence the work of the EU institutions. (More)
  
  
• On the 28th of September 2016, the European Commission proposed an Interinstitutional Agreement on a Mandatory Transparency Register covering all three EU institutions – the European Parliament, the Council and the Commission in order to ensure the transparency of lobbying activities. The new proposal is intended to make meetings with decision-makers from the three institutions conditional on prior registration in the Transparency Register, building on the existing voluntary Transparency Register of the Parliament and the Commission, which was introduced in November 2014. (More)

• Proposal - Better Regulation Agenda: On the 19th of May 2015, the European Commission adopted a Proposal for an Interinstitutional Agreement on Better Regulation which sets out the Commission's plans of how to apply impact assessments, stakeholder consultations and ex-post evaluation of existing legislation as key tools of the 'Better Regulation'-Agenda, with the aim of reaching an agreement with the European Parliament and the Council before the end of 2015. (More)

• Public Consultation - Better Regulation Agenda: On the 1st of July 2016 the European Commission opened up another part of the EU decision-making process for stakeholder input. In line with its commitments under the Better Regulation Agenda and the broad effort to increase transparency in the EU Institutions, as of 30 June, draft delegated and implementing acts will now be put online and open for public feedback for a period of four weeks. This new online feedback tool is part of the Commission's new, user-centred web presence. (More)

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On the 22nd of April 2015, the Commission presented the results of its review of the decision making process for Genetically Modified Organisms. The review confirmed the need for changes to allow national governments to have a greater say on the use of GMOs. The Commission has proposed to amend legislation. (More)