EU Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis announced in Brussels that 12 Omnibus packages could slash annual administrative costs by at least €17 billion. Speaking on 21 September 2026 at the launch of the Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden, Dombrovskis targeted national gold-plating as the next major hurdle for European businesses and the Single Market.
Cutting Red Tape and the €17 Billion Savings Target
Europe is facing a less forgiving and more fragmented global economy where growth and productivity have lagged for too long. Citizens and businesses have made it clear that excessive, fragmented, and overlapping rules are holding them back. In response, the European Commission is advancing a simplification agenda that aims to cut administrative burdens by at least 25% for all companies and by at least 35% for SMEs.
The Commission has already tabled 12 major Omnibus proposals and other simplification initiatives across a wide range of policy sectors covering a broad range of policy areas. Dombrovskis noted that these proposals have the potential to save at least €17 billion yearly in administrative costs for European businesses and national administrations, allowing companies to redirect those savings away from compliance and towards investment, innovation, and expansion, the activit
The Threat of National Gold-Plating to the Single Market
While Brussels works to cut red tape, national capitals often introduce barriers of their own. Gold-plating happens when a Member State, when transposing or implementing EU law in a given policy area, introduces a wider scope, stricter rules or obligations that go beyond the requirements set by the EU legal act. Creating more burdensome procedures than what is necessary to implement the EU law can also be considered gold-plating.
These divergent national rules create uneven conditions for businesses across Member States. This may distort competition and fragment the single market. While large firms can often absorb complexity, SMEs cannot. This is why simplification is also a fairness issue, as excessive national requirements may also increase compliance costs, especially for SMEs, and can discourage cross-border activity and undermine competitiveness.
During the European Parliament debate, Dombrovskis referenced the Communication on a Clearer, Simpler and Better Enforced EU Rulebook adopted this April and quoted European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen from earlier today in this house, who stressed that Member States must step up their own efforts against bureaucratic creep: Yes, we are doing our best at the European level to cut red tape. But now it is time for the Member States to step up. If we are serious about simplification, we also need a pact against gold-plating.
Launching the Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden
To tackle these regional hurdles, officials gathered in Brussels on 21 September 2026 for the launch of the Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden. The Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden will promote simpler national rules, evidence-based policymaking and the exchange of proven practices among participating countries.
Addressing the room, Dombrovskis invoked the opening of an acceptance speech given by Austrian writer Thomas Bernhard, noting that Thomas Bernhard began his speech accepting the 1968 Austrian State Prize for Literature by declaring that there was ‘nothing to praise, nothing to condemn, nothing to accuse.’ Dombrovskis stated that he would begin his with neither condemnation nor accusation, only praise, because today we are here for something Bernhard rarely allowed his characters: to stop merely observing problems and instead begin fixing them.
The 2027 Regulatory Deep Cleaning Agenda
The European Commission intends to maintain its simplification momentum throughout its mandate. Following up on the European Council of 19 March 2026, which called on Member States to avoid gold-plating and disproportionate national requirements, the Commission is rolling out structured enforcement and detection mechanisms.
The 2027 agenda will focus on the regulatory “deep cleaning” action plan, with new simplification proposals planned for banking, housing, transport and digital policy. Additionally, a Digital Fitness Check is expected to generate additional proposals while preserving existing EU protection and quality standards.
Toolkit, Questionnaires, and the Road Ahead
Tackling legal gold-plating depends on the participation of Member States. To assist national governments, the Commission is preparing a toolkit with an overview of best practices, to support Member States in detecting and preventing gold-plating. As a first step, the Commission has recently circulated a questionnaire to the Member States to gather information on national approaches, as well as a survey to stakeholders.
At the same time, the Commission will also take into consideration the risk of gold-plating when making legislative proposals, and formulate them in a manner that minimises that risk, ensuring that simplicity by design is embedded in future legislation.