On November 18, 2016, the Regulation on the scope and methodology for conducting an impact assessment of regulatory acts within the competence of the Council of Ministers was published in the State Gazette, in accordance with the requirements of the Regulatory Acts Act.
The regulation regulates the minimum requirements for the content of the partial preliminary assessment, for which the relevant form is also attached.
The following are the hypotheses in which a comprehensive impact assessment is mandatory:
- drafting new laws and codes;
- preparation of draft regulations, the partial preliminary impact assessment of which has determined that significant impacts can be expected;
- recommendation to carry out a comprehensive preliminary impact assessment by the Council of Ministers administration according to the rules set out in the Regulation;
- own judgment of the drafter of the normative act.
The Regulation also regulates the minimum scope of the overall impact assessment, which includes at least:
- possible negative impacts on competitiveness, market relations, competition, innovation and/or consumers;
- possible negative impacts on fundamental human rights, on individual social groups or on society as a whole;
- possible environmental impacts at national level;
- possible economic, social and environmental impacts on individual regions of the country;
- possible costs for the affected parties and how they are distributed by groups or by sectors.
The results of the comprehensive ex ante impact assessment are reflected in a report and a summary. The summary is a separate document and is prepared according to the form attached to the Regulation. In each comprehensive ex ante impact assessment, an assessment of the impact on SMEs is also carried out.
According to the Regulation, the results of the implementation of the regulatory acts are verified through an ex-post impact assessment. It examines the relationship between the objectives set and the results achieved in the implementation of the regulatory act. The determination of the scope and structure of the assessment is carried out by selecting criteria for assessing and reviewing the changes in the policy implemented through the regulatory act for the period under consideration. When determining the scope and structure of the assessment, some or all of the following criteria are used: achievement of the objectives; effectiveness; efficiency; sustainability and usefulness.
In order to ensure the implementation of the Regulation on the scope and methodology for conducting an impact assessment, amendments have also been made to the Organizational Rules of the Council of Ministers and its administration, published in the same issue of the State Gazette of 18.11.2016. According to them, the partial impact assessment is a mandatory element of the proposal for inclusion of each draft law in the legislative program and of the proposal for inclusion of each draft by-law in the operational program of the Council of Ministers.
The organizational regulations provide that the Directorate "Modernization of Administration" under the Council of Ministers will decide on the need to conduct a comprehensive impact assessment and on the quality of the prepared impact assessments.
The full text of the Regulation can be found here.
An extract of the Rules of Procedure of the Council of Ministers and its administration, indicating the latest amendments, can be found here.
