By Elaine Campling, the Product Safety Manager of Fujifilm Speciality Ink Systems and chairman of the ESMA Health, Safety and Environmental Protection Committee.
The “new” European Commission is reporting strengthened commitment to ‘Better Regulation’, in achieving robust policy goals that are fit for purpose. The Commission is meeting the better regulation challenge through its Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT). The goal of the programme is to reduce regulatory burden, by cutting red tape and simplifying/improving the design and quality of legislation, so that policy objectives are achieved more efficiently. Under REFIT, the Commission is screening the entire stock of EU legislation ‘on an ongoing and systematic basis’ to identify weaknesses and establish corrective action.
European Union legislative process is complex and often misunderstood, despite legislation being key to the health, safety and welfare of global citizens and the sustainability of our global environment. To be effective, legislation should be proportionate and fit for purpose. Instead, it is often over complicated, over burdensome and subject to gold-plating, both in its introduction and transposition into secondary regulation via national implementation.
It is important to support ‘Better Regulation’ initiatives through the submission of informed comments/suggestions via consultation processes. ESMA’s Health, Safety and Environmental Protection (HSEP) Committee have made representation a number of key regulatory topics and will continue supporting ESMA members to achieve the goal of better regulation.
Read the full article “Achieving policy goals that are fit for purpose” by Elaine Campling in the November issue (4/2015) of “Specialist Printing Worldwide”. Visit ESMA website www.esma.com to find out about the next HSEP Committee meeting.
