Escaping the simplification trap: A playbook for the EU’s digital rulebook

Abstract

The Commission’s simplification agenda makes sense if it focuses on the effects of rules rather than diluting what they are trying to protect. With a series of limited legislative and operational adjustments, the EU could lift competitiveness without lowering standards. By cutting procedural complexity across the digital rulebook, EU companies would face less red tape, while EU institutions could pursue their policy goals more efficiently. However, the catch is execution: Brussels’ crisis-driven, highly politicised processes make it hard to assemble stable coalitions and to produce the high-quality outcomes such an endeavour requires.