Santer lives up to pledge to ‘do less, but better’

Date: 16/11/1995

By Rory Watson

LESS than a year into office, European Commission President Jacques Santer is turning his pledge to stem the tide of new EU legislation into a reality.

Next year the Commission will put forward fewer than two legislative proposals per month as Santer refocusses its activity.

The modest total of 19 legislative proposals planned for 1996 contrasts with the torrent which emerged in the late 1980s and is six fewer than this year's total.

It reflects the reality that enforcing legislation, rather than drafting it, has become a more important Commission role.

It is also in keeping with the subsidiarity principle that the Union should only intervene if it can contribute more than national and regional authorities on their own.

Santer's decision to unveil the Commission's 1996 work programme to MEPs in Strasbourg this week caught many by surprise.

But by bringing the exercise forward from its traditional January timing, the Commission sought to give the Parliament a chance to examine it before the year begins.

While trimming on legislation, the Commission is set to hit a new high in consultation. It is planning a record number of Green and White papers.