Impact Assessment

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European Commission
Impact Assessment in the EU Commission
Ch. Allen Enterprise Directorate-General
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Why Impact Assessment?

• Assists decision makers in decision making
  process, but is not a substitute for political
  judgement.
• It identifies policy options for achieving a
  given objective and assesses the economic, social
  and environmental impacts of these options.
• It assesses whether EU action is necessary

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Origins of Impact Assessment

• Sustainable Development policy
• Balanced development of economy, social and
  environmental progress
• Assess impacts costs and benefits of policies
• Better Regulation policy
• Part of Commissions Better Regulation Package
• 2003 Work Programme 43 initiatives undergoing
  extended impact assessments

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How are proposals selected for Extended Impact
assessment?

• Preliminary impact assessment (PIA) prepared as
  part of the Annual Policy Strategy and/or Work
  Programme
• Measures for Extended impact assessment (EIA)
  have a substantial economic, environmental or
  social impact and/or represent a major policy
  reform

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Elements of Extended Impact assessment

• Identify issues to be tackled
• Outline policy objectives
• Consider range of options instruments
• Subsidiarity and Proportionality
• Impacts - economic, environmental social
• Consultation
• Implementation, monitoring evaluation

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Measuring impacts

• Assess economic, environmental and social impacts
• Identify gainers and losers
• Measure impact in qualitative and quantitative
  terms and monetize where possible
• Consider risks and uncertainties
• Examine possible compliance problems

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Comparing impacts

• Cost-benefit analysis
• Cost-effectiveness analysis
• Multi-criteria analysis

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Completed EIAs

• Employment Strategy
• Kyoto clean development mechanism
• Groundwater
• Unfair trade practices
• Immigration, Integration and Employment
• Digital switchover

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What role for stakeholders?

• Major opportunities for stakeholder involvement
  in policy process
• Suppliers of data and information
• Independent producers of policy analysis
• Representation of interests