Looking back and going forward: what should the new European Commission do in order to promote evidence-based policy-making?

Abstract

In this paper, we first give an overview of what has happened in Europe within the area of regulation over the past 5 years or so. We then examine where the new European Commission and the Parliament are with regard to evidence-based and risk-informed policy-making taking a specific look at the importance of transparency among European regulatory agencies, the calls for better regulation that were initiated by First Vice President Timmermans, and the continued mis-use of the precautionary principle. In the final section, we provide a number of recommendations on what the Commission and the Parliament should do going forward including moving away from fish bowl to science-based transparency, making the member states more receptive to science-based policy-making and strengthening the capacity of the European Commission to further promote evidence-based and risk-informed policy-making.

Keywords:

• better regulation
• risk
• Europe
• precautionary principle

Acknowledgements

We are indebted to the following individuals who have either provided us with information or who have commented on earlier versions of this article: Asa Boholm, Julie Girling and her special advisors, and within the European Commission representatives from the Moedas Cabinet and representatives from Secretariat General. The article is based on research that has in part been funded by American Chemistry Council, Bromine Science and Environmental Forum, CEFIC, the Nickel Institute, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Swedish Research Foundation FORMAS. Excerpts of this article were first presented at the ‘Science-based policy making in the EU: What does it mean for you?’ breakfast meeting held at the European Parliament in Strasbourg on the 8 July 2015 and hosted by Julie Girling MEP.