Good afternoon.

Thank you for the invitation to present our simplification agenda today, what we hope to achieve, and why it is necessary at this crucial moment.

Europe urgently needs to take action to secure its long-term prosperity and security. This is central to the Commissions competitiveness agenda.

Simplification, or reducing red tape, is crucial for a competitive Europe. The goal is to make regulations simpler and more balanced, allowing businesses to spend more time and resources on productive activities.

The past five years have led to a large and complex regulatory burden. This hinders innovation and investment and poses a challenge for our businesses, especially SMEs, which make up 99% of all EU businesses.

We aim to reduce administrative costs by 25% for all companies and 35% for SMEs. This translates into cutting approximately €37.5 billion annually by the end of this mandate.

Our strategy, A Simpler and Faster Europe, focuses on four pillars: delivering results from EU policies, simplifying and accelerating Europe, improving new regulations, and strengthening cooperation with co-legislators and stakeholders.

We have already submitted proposals for simplification in sustainability and agriculture. These proposals could save businesses over €8 billion annually.

Stakeholder involvement is essential. We have introduced new consultation tools, such as reality checks and implementation dialogues, to identify practical issues and develop solutions.

The input from your study, such as a regulatory burden index and the use of AI for regulation, is valuable and greatly appreciated. We remain committed to achieving our economic, social, and environmental goals.

Thank you for your invitation. I look forward to hearing your experiences and suggestions following my remarks.

Thank you.