Brussels, 21 September 2026
EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis says 12 Omnibus packages could cut annual administrative costs by at least €17 billion. With further proposals planned for banking, housing, transport and digital policy, the Commission will now target national gold-plating—but expects governments and co-legislators to match its ambitions.
10 takeaways
- The Commission has already presented 12 major Omnibus packages and other simplification initiatives covering a broad range of policy areas.
- These proposals could save European businesses and public administrations at least €17 billion in administrative costs each year.
- The EU aims to reduce administrative burdens by at least 25% for all companies and by at least 35% for SMEs.
- The Commission will continue reviewing the entire body of EU legislation throughout its mandate to identify further opportunities for simplification.
- The 2027 agenda will focus on the regulatory “deep cleaning” action plan, with new simplification proposals planned for banking, housing, transport and digital policy.
- A Digital Fitness Check is expected to generate additional proposals while preserving existing EU protection and quality standards.
- The Commission wants “simplicity by design” embedded in future legislation, with clearer responsibilities, compliance requirements and consequences for non-compliance.
- Faster and more robust enforcement will accompany simplification to ensure that Member States implement EU rules correctly and on time.
- The Commission is preparing a toolkit and pilot projects to identify and limit national “gold-plating” that fragments the Single Market and increases compliance costs.
- The Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden will promote simpler national rules, evidence-based policymaking and the exchange of proven practices among participating countries.
E-summary by ChatGPT, prompted by Insight EU, based on the speech below.
Keynote speech by EU Commissioner Dombrovskis at launch of the Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden
Brussels, 21 September 2026
Vielen Dank, State Secretary.
Let me begin with a reference to your favourite Austrian writer. Thomas Bernhard began his speech accepting the 1968 Austrian State Prize for Literature by declaring that there was ‘nothing to praise, nothing to condemn, nothing to accuse.’ I will begin mine with neither condemnation nor accusation, only praise. Because today we are here for something Bernhard rarely allowed his characters: to stop merely observing problems. And instead, begin fixing them.
It is a pleasure to join you all today to mark the launch of the exciting and much needed Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden. It is a timely initiative.
We all know that our rules play a crucial role in creating the conditions for a successful, thriving economy. The reality is that Europe’s growth and productivity have been too low for too long. We are all now navigating a less forgiving, more fragmented world where the consequences of lower productivity and missed growth have been laid bare. So, we can no longer continue with business as usual. Or pretend that this problem does not exist.
Our citizens and businesses have made it clear that excessive, fragmented and overlapping rules are holding them back. There now exists a broad consensus that Europe needs a simpler, more coherent and less burdensome regulatory regime. That is why the European Commission has made cutting red tape a priority.
We are delivering a simplification agenda that is unprecedented in both scale and ambition. And have already tabled twelve major Omnibus proposals and other simplification initiatives across a broad range of policy areas. These proposals have the potential to save at least €17 billion in administrative costs yearly for European businesses and national administrations. Our businesses can then redirect those savings away from compliance and towards investment, innovation, and expansion, the activities that create high-quality jobs, make us more competitive, and more prosperous.
Our simplification efforts will continue throughout the entire mandate. We will continue reviewing the entire EU rulebook to identify opportunities to simplify and reduce burdens. Our target is to cut administrative burdens by at least 25% for all companies, and by at least 35% for SMEs.
The Commission will continue to play its part by presenting ambitious proposals for the simplification of EU rules. In 2027, we will focus on delivering on the areas in the Action Plan on regulatory deep cleaning. And as announced recently by the President in her Letter of Intent for 2027, we plan to deliver simplification proposals in the banking, housing, transport and digital sectors. The Digital Fitness Check is also expected to lead into additional simplification proposals, while safeguarding high standards.
But it is crucial that we all pull in the same direction. We are counting on our co-legislators to act with ambition and urgency when considering the proposals now on the table. As well as for those that are still to come. That is the only way we can turn an ambitious agenda into the real, tangible results our citizens and businesses deserve.
But our simplification agenda is not all about looking back. We have also changed how we will approach lawmaking and regulation in future. We are working to embed ‘simplicity by design’ in every proposal, ensuring regulatory discipline and clarity on who must act, how to comply, and the consequences of non-compliance.
We are implementing a faster and more robust enforcement regime for EU rules, Because rules only deliver their intended benefits for our people and businesses when Member States implement them correctly and on time.
We will engage with Member States and providing best practices and guidance for the transposition and implementation of EU law.
But the Commission’s role is only half the story. Our Member States must also step up to the plate.
President von der Leyen addressed this in last week’s State of the Union Address. Europe needs a ‘Pact Against Gold Plating’. Divergent national rules too often create uneven conditions and fragment the Single Market. They can also increase compliance costs and undermine competitiveness. That is why the European Council called on Member States to avoid gold-plating and disproportionate national requirements. The Commission is working on a toolkit to assist them in this endeavour. And we intend to carry out pilot projects to identify gold-plating in key areas for the Single Market.
But this simplification work should not be limited to areas connected to EU legislation. We must also look at national, regional and local rules and administrative procedures more broadly. And that is precisely what you are doing with the Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden.
In many ways, the commitments this Alliance has undertaken to implement at national level reflect the actions the European Commission has been forwarding at European level. Placing the needs and interests of European citizens and businesses at the heart of the legislative process. Envisaging simple and high-quality national legislation from the outset. Strengthening evidence-based law-making. All while preserving the integrity of the Single Market and safeguarding quality and protection standards for our citizens.
And, importantly, you are committing to sharing best practices. I have always believed in the free movement of good ideas within our Union. We need to learn from each other and deliver together. Not repeat mistakes that have been overcome elsewhere. That is especially valuable when it comes to cutting red tape. I know better than anyone that simplification is rarely simple. Measures that have been tried, tested and shown to work in one country should be shared, adapted and implemented in others. And the Alliance provides the perfect platform to do just that.
Ladies and gentlemen, to conclude. My message today is that as a Union, as a collective, we simply must do more. We have a responsibility to go faster and further. And we must shoulder that responsibility together.
That’s why this Alliance is so important. It sends a clear signal that you are determined to tackle bureaucratic burdens with the rigour and seriousness the problem deserves. The European Commission fully supports this initiative. Because when taken together, simplification at European and national levels can combine to reinforce each other, producing results far greater than the sum of their parts.
And now more than ever, we policymakers must be in the results business. For our citizens and businesses. Our prosperity and security. For the very future of our European project.
Thank you all.
Source – EU Commission