27. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in the context of Ireland’s presidency of the EU Council, the action he is taking to drive forward simplification measures to ensure EU rules are proportionate, effective and supportive of enterprise. [66768/26]

Simplification of EU rules is a priority of Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Reducing unnecessary administrative, reporting and regulatory burdens is essential to improving European competitiveness, supporting innovation and helping businesses, particularly SMEs, to grow and scale across the Single Market.

During our Presidency, our ambition is to deliver a meaningful and ambitious simplification agenda. The Commission has so far tabled twelve Omnibus packages covering a range of policy areas. The Commission estimates that these packages will together lead to a reduction in costs of more than €18 billion a year for businesses. The Irish Presidency’s aim is to conclude all outstanding simplification Omnibus packages by the end of 2026 and make early progress on new packages.

The Irish Presidency’s work on simplification supports the broader One Europe, One Market agenda. Complex and fragmented rules remain a significant barrier to cross-border business activity, particularly for SMEs seeking to scale across the Single Market. We are committed to the One Europe, One Market ambitions of making decisive progress on the simplification of EU rules throughout the remainder of 2026 and 2027, and in doing so ensuring the experience of navigating the Single Market is simpler, lighter and faster, to the ultimate benefit of European businesses, competition and ultimately consumer choice.

The European Commission has also set out a comprehensive plan to strengthen how EU laws are made, applied and enforced, while also addressing the existing stock of legislation. The Communication A Simpler, Clearer and Better Enforced EU, published in April 2026, sets out strategic improvements to how the Union designs its policies to create simpler, more efficient and more enforceable rules. The Communication focuses on five key topics : designing simpler laws from the start; strengthening the EU's inclusive and evidence-based approach to policy making; cleaning up outdated or overlapping provisions; preventing unnecessary national add-ons (gold-plating) and enforcing EU rules more effectively. Work is ongoing at EU level on progressing this initiative.