EU regulation must enable industry, not stifle it

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BrusselsReport.eu
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By Dr. Ulrich Adam, the Director General of ORGALIM, a European trade association representing European engineering and technology industries

Jacques Delors once said that in Europe you need the firefighter but also the architect. With Europe’s technological and industrial competitiveness under great stress, the words of the late French politician and former European Commission President certainly ring true. With global competition intensifying, geopolitical tensions rising, and the deployment of transformative technologies such as artificial intelligence accelerating, the continent’s ability to remain economically resilient is under greater scrutiny than ever before. At the heart of the debate lies the European Union’s regulatory framework: long viewed by industry leaders and politicians alike as a key determinant of business dynamism, investment attractiveness, and innovation capacity.

The constraints of regulatory overreach

In recent years, however, European businesses have found themselves increasingly constrained by increasing amounts of red tape. According to the Draghi Report on The Future of European Competitiveness, between 2019 and 2024, the EU introduced approximately 13,000 new regulations – more than double the 5,500 enacted in the United States during the same period. While well-intentioned, this surge in legislative activity has placed a disproportionate burden on European firms, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as emerging technology and engineering players.

Our new report “Time to Act: Reducing the EU’s Regulatory Burden on Europe’s Technology Industries” warns that the EU’s current regulatory approach has fallen short in providing the structural support necessary to sustain Europe’s technological edge. Without a concerted shift toward smarter, more enabling regulation, the continent risks lagging behind in critical areas such as AI, clean tech, and digital infrastructure.

A new commitment from the EU institutions

Amid growing calls for reform, a new political commitment from the European Commission and European Council to address excessive and unnecessary bureaucracy signals a welcome change in tone. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has tasked each Commissioner with measurable targets to reduce reporting obligations by 25% across the board, and by 35% for SMEs – an effort formally embedded in the mission letters issued to all European Commissioners. These efforts have been echoed in the European Council’s 2024–2029 strategic agenda, which prioritises the reduction of regulatory burdens to foster a more dynamic economic environment.

These developments are an exellent – and long ovedue – first step, but cutting reporting requirements alone will not be sufficient. The scope must be broader and more systematic. It is for this reason that we have detailed a 10-Point Action Plan for Better EU Regulation in order to help policymakers reduce today’s heavy regulatory burden. Taken together, these principles should act as a gold standard for ensuring that future EU legislation will act as a structural driver – and catalyst – for much-needed innovation, productivity, competitiveness and growth.

Stakeholder cooperation to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy

It is vital that the EU institutions diagnose the full spectrum of regulatory inefficiencies and develop a coherent plan that reconciles the need for reduced bureaucracy with industry’s need for legal certainty and long-term strategic direction. Our report assists in this regard by highlighting a number of specific examples in three major EU policy areas – sustainability, digital, and product-related legislation – where excessive or poorly designed rules have hampered competitiveness and innovation.

We at Orgalim look forward to an ever closer stakeholder dialogue between decision-makers and affected parties, and are delighted to share our roadmap intended to provide a template for future policymaking. The guiding principles advocate for clarity, proportionality, and innovation-friendliness, thereby positioning regulation not as an impediment but as a structural catalyst for European growth and competitiveness. We want to support the European institutions in their role as a firefighter and an arcitect to ensure that regulation becomes a lever, not a liability, in the race for global technological leadership.

 

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