Time for coherent rules on EU regulation

Regulation and legislation are at the very heart of the European Union (EU). EU legislation must be of the very highest quality and the procedures for adopting it must be fully transparent if it is to fulfil its function as the cement binding the Member States and the people of Europe together. Regulation in the EU is currently governed by a complex and confused patchwork of rules, principles, agreements, declarations, guidance and mere convention. In May 2015 the European Commission proposed an updating of just one part of that patchwork, leaving untouched many other parts which are disjointed and outdated. The Commission's proposals do not go nearly far enough. To ensure that EU regulation meets the requirements of quality and transparency the patchwork should be subject to a thorough review to see how much of it is fit for the twenty-first century and then it should be replaced by a new coherent framework covering all aspects of EU regulation, but in particular EU legislation. Structures should be created to oversee that framework, which should be subject to continuing review and adjustment.