‘Better regulation’ is about creating legislation that achieves its objectives while being targeted, effective, easy to comply with and with the least burden possible. To do this, the Commission uses various regulatory instruments: 

• comprehensive evaluations and fitness checks involve thorough analysis of how existing legislation and spending programmes have been performing, to check that they are efficient, effective, relevant and coherent, and that EU-level intervention is actually adding value; 
• impact assessments look at the problems to be tackled, the objectives to be achieved, the trade-offs to consider, options for action and their potential impacts; 
• input from stakeholders supports this work throughout the policy cycle, to provide policymakers with the best possible evidence base; and 
• compliance promotion tools help Member States transpose, implement and apply EU law in a timely and correct manner. 

These guidelines build on the key aspects of the ‘better regulation’ Communication. They explain what ‘better regulation’ is and how it applies to the day-to-day practices of Commission officials preparing new initiatives and proposals, or managing existing policies and legislation. As such the guidelines can also offer valuable insights on different processes that are also relevant for the performance of interoperability assessments under the Interoperable Europe Act. For example, Chapter 2 offers insights on stakeholder consultation while Chapter 3 and 4 focus on evaluation and monitoring. 

The ‘better regulation’ toolbox, in turn, provides operational and detailed guidance on specific aspects. Specifically, it operationalizes the concepts explained in the guidelines with 69 tools ranging from planning and validating policy initiatives to digital-ready policy-making and cost-benefit analysis. Be sure to check out both!