Impact Assessments Work

The European Court of Auditors has issued a report on the use of impact assessments prepared by the Commission for the decision-making process of the EU institutions. The main conclusion is that impact assessments have become an integral element of the Commission’s policy development and have been used by the Commission to design its initiatives better. The Commission’s impact assessments are systematically transmitted to the European Parliament and the Council to support legislative decision-making and users in both institutions find them helpful when considering the Commission’s proposals. However, the Commission’s impact assessments were not updated as the legislative procedure progressed and the European Parliament and Council rarely performed impact assessments on their own amendments. This is a very important observation since Commission proposals sometimes go through significant transformation in the legislative process.