Adoption: 07/05/2026
Simplification of administrative burdens in environmental legislation
ENVE-VIII/013
THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS (CoR)
- acknowledges the European Commission’s intention to simplify environmental legislation and reduce administrative burdens, but stresses that simplification must strengthen implementation, facilitate compliance and enhance clarity both for public authorities and economic actors, must respect the principle of non-regression in environmental protection, and cannot be used as a justification for shifting responsibilities to public administrations; stresses that simplification must not only reduce administrative burdens but also act as a catalyst for innovation, investment and implementation capacity, enabling cities and regions to function as place-based ecosystems where public authorities, industry, academia and citizens co-develop and deploy solutions for the green and digital transition;
- welcomes the fact that the proposed changes aim to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of EU industry while stressing that simplification efforts must not hinder the achievement of the EU’s environmental objectives; expresses concern that some proposed changes risk lowering environmental standards or weakening safeguards; reaffirms its strong commitment to the EU’s zero-pollution ambition; stresses that any simplification measure must fully respect the 'do no significant harm' principle and must comply with the precautionary principle and the principles of preventive action, rectification at source and polluter pays, as laid down in Article 191(2) TFEU; reiterates that the EU must maintain high standards in areas such as chemicals policy, pollution control, biodiversity protection, waste management and industrial emissions;
- calls for strengthened multi-level governance in future simplification processes; underlines that LRAs must be systematically involved from the outset, while territorial impact assessments and structured dialogue should become standard practice;
- opposes restrictions on access to justice, including the introduction of substantial preclusion, which would be in conflict with the Aarhus Convention;
- calls for maintaining robust environmental management systems and preserving indicative transformation plans to facilitate site-level risk management and long-term decarbonisation strategies while securing economic prosperity, competitiveness and resilience;
- warns against the announcement to repeal or suspend the SCIP database or associated hazardous substance information obligations unless and until a fully functional and interoperable digital product passport (DPP) system providing at least the same level of traceability, accessibility and enforcement capacity is operational across the EU.
- acknowledges the European Commission’s intention to simplify environmental legislation and reduce administrative burdens, but stresses that simplification must strengthen implementation, facilitate compliance and enhance clarity both for public authorities and economic actors, must respect the principle of non-regression in environmental protection, and cannot be used as a justification for shifting responsibilities to public administrations; stresses that simplification must not only reduce administrative burdens but also act as a catalyst for innovation, investment and implementation capacity, enabling cities and regions to function as place-based ecosystems where public authorities, industry, academia and citizens co-develop and deploy solutions for the green and digital transition;
- welcomes the fact that the proposed changes aim to strengthen the competitiveness and resilience of EU industry while stressing that simplification efforts must not hinder the achievement of the EU’s environmental objectives; expresses concern that some proposed changes risk lowering environmental standards or weakening safeguards; reaffirms its strong commitment to the EU’s zero-pollution ambition; stresses that any simplification measure must fully respect the 'do no significant harm' principle and must comply with the precautionary principle and the principles of preventive action, rectification at source and polluter pays, as laid down in Article 191(2) TFEU; reiterates that the EU must maintain high standards in areas such as chemicals policy, pollution control, biodiversity protection, waste management and industrial emissions;
- calls for strengthened multi-level governance in future simplification processes; underlines that LRAs must be systematically involved from the outset, while territorial impact assessments and structured dialogue should become standard practice;
- opposes restrictions on access to justice, including the introduction of substantial preclusion, which would be in conflict with the Aarhus Convention;
- calls for maintaining robust environmental management systems and preserving indicative transformation plans to facilitate site-level risk management and long-term decarbonisation strategies while securing economic prosperity, competitiveness and resilience;
- warns against the announcement to repeal or suspend the SCIP database or associated hazardous substance information obligations unless and until a fully functional and interoperable digital product passport (DPP) system providing at least the same level of traceability, accessibility and enforcement capacity is operational across the EU.