BETTER REGULATION
IN CYPRUS
Andreas Charalambous
Director of Economic Studies and EU Affairs
Ministry of Finance
2nd April 2012
Content










BR as a priority
National Action Plan
Organizational Structure
Better Legislation
Reduction of AB
Impact Assessment
BR at European Level
Cyprus Presidency
Way Forward
Need for Change
2
Better Regulation is a
priority



BR important for Cyprus economy (small economy,
reputable business and financial centre etc)
... in particular during periods
of economic crisis.
National Action Plan (NAP), in line
commitments, in close cooperation
stakeholders.
with
with
EU
all
3
National Action Plan



Initially approved by the Council of Ministers
in 2007, and being revised at regular
intervals (last revision Feb 2012).
Implementation and monitoring.
Three axis :
I.
Better Legislation
II.
Reduction of Administrative Burden (AB)
III. Impact Assessment (IA)
4
Organizational Structure (1)
(diagram follows on next slide):
o Steering Committee: responsible for developing
a long-term national strategy and for providing the
Central Specialized Unit with overall guidance. Consists
of representatives of all relevant Ministries, the Law
Office, the Law Commissioner and the Planning Bureau.
o Central Specialized Unit (CSU): responsible
for coordinating, implementing and monitoring the NAP
- it consists of five people.
o Liaison Officers: in each Ministry and in some
Ministerial Departments, responsible for cooperating
with the CSU.
5
Organizational Structure (2)
Council of Ministers
Steering Committee
Permanent Secretary of the MOF – Chair
Other relevant Ministries, and
Stakeholders (as observers)
Central Specialized Unit at MOF
Officers from the MOF and the Public Administration and
Personnel Department
Liaison officers
in all Ministries and in some
Departments.
6
Better Legislation
Promotion of civil
servants training via
seminars regarding legal
drafting. Organized by
the Cyprus Academy in
cooperation with the Law
Office and the BR Central
Specialized Unit (7 series
of seminars during the
last 2 years).
7
Better Legislation (2)
Publication of a Guide
on Legal Drafting:
codifies all stages
involved in legal
drafting and all
required documents at
every stage - used as
an advisory tool for all
civil servants who
carry out legal
drafting.
Reduction of AB
Reduction of AB is
extremely important for
Cyprus since the
overwhelming majority of
businesses are very small
(< 5 employees), thus
influenced, to a greater
extent, by complicated and
distorted laws, regulations
and regulatory
interventions.
9
Reduction of AB (2)
National Target
In 2008, national target of 20%
was set for AB Reduction by
2012, which constitutes an EU
commitment.
Reduction of AB (3)
Pilot Project

A pilot project on the real estate
market, - more specifically, on
the planning permission and the
building permit procedures, was
carried out in 2008, using the
SCM methodology.

The results showed that the AB
was low (only 4% of the admin
cost), and the real problem was
the irritation burden caused on
businesses from the delays in
the issuance of the permits.
11
Reduction of AB (4)
Sectoral baseline Measurement



Promotion of a sectoral base line measurement for the
reduction of AB in all national legislation (between 1960-2007)
relating to businesses, based on 8 national priority areas.
The goal is to achieve the 20% national reduction target by
2012 by modernising and simplifing the complicated
procedures, which businesses have to follow in order to comply
with legislations.
The project was completed in April 2011 and resulted in
around 30 sectoral reduction proposals, now under
implementation in the 8 priority areas.
12
Reduction of AB (5)
Measurement Results
Total Admin
Cost
€
1.008.561.085
Admin
Burden
€
%
704.604.196 70%
Business as
Usual
€
%
303.956.889
30%
Reduction of AB (6)
Measurement Results
AB for each Priority Area
Priority Area
€
1
Inland Revenue
383.159.511
2
Registrar of
Companies and 195.171.269
Official Receiver
3
VAT
4
Social Insurance 39.521.511
5
Environment
4.524.888
6
Civil Registry
and Migration
2.394.472
7
Tourism
744.270
8
Agriculture
152.900
78.935.375
TOTAL
704.604.196
29/07/2017
14
Reduction of AB (7)
If all proposals are implemented by 2012, then the AB
will be reduced by 22% (€156m)
– corresponds to 1% of our national GDP.
Horizontal
proposal (€)
%
31.869.262
4%
Proposals in
each priority
area
(€)
%
123.540.523 18%
Total AB
reduction
%
155.409.785 22%
Reduction of AB (8)
Reduction Proposals
Generally, the reduction proposals in
each priority area aim at:





Reduction of the need for citizens’
physical presence at governmental
departments, through the promotion
of electronic governance
Simplification of tax return forms.
Reduction of the obligatory period
that businesses must maintain
records for tax purposes.
Simplification of the procedures for
the examination of applications.
Reduction of the frequency for
submitting VAT returns.
16
Reduction of AB (9)
Horizontal Reduction Proposal




Promotion of the use of the most
commonly used e-systems of the civil
service concerning businesses, in the
context of a communication campaign and
offering incentives, in order to increase the
use of these systems.
To be implemented in cooperation with the
Cyprus Productivity Center and the
Department of Information Technology
Services, in the context of a European cofunded project.
The tender documents will be published within
the week, contract to be signed by the
beginning of June 2012 – implementation will
last until March 2013.
It is very important for businesses to be more
aware of the existence of e-systems and be
encouraged to use them.
17
Impact Assessment (1)
 Until the adoption of a long-run strategy for Impact
Assessment (IA), a simplified mechanism was adopted
through an IA Questionnaire, attached to all Bills/draft
regulations upon their submission to the Attorney’s General
office, the Council of Ministers and to the House of
Representatives.
 The Questionnaire deals with the characteristics of the
legislative proposal, the consultation process which took
place, and with the social, economic and environmental
impacts of the proposal.
 In order to enhance the process, a Monitoring Mechanism
has been established.
 A Consultation Guide has also been issued (see next slide).
18
Impact Assessment (2)
Consultation Guide



Aims at creating a uniform
procedure to be followed
by civil servants during
consultation with
stakeholders, while
drafting new legislation.
Assists civil servants upon
completing the
standardized questionnaire
on Impact Assessment.
Based on best practices
19
BR at European Level



We welcome Commission's efforts to achieve the
target of reducing AB on European legislation by
25%, by 2012.
We welcome the new era of Smart Regulation and
Baroso´s political guidelines of Oct. 2009, which set
the promotion of Smart Regulation as one of the
most important tools for achieving the goals of
Europe 2020 Strategy.
We will continue the cooperation with all Member
States and European institutions for the promotion of
the goals of the Smart Regulation agenda, aiming at
the increase of competition and growth.



The BR Central Specialized Unit (Unit) is closely
cooperating with the other Trio countries (Poland,
Denmark) on BR issues for the Cyprus Presidency of
the Council of EU, the second half of 2012.
Our priorities, as regards BR issues under the CY
Presidency, are still under discussion.
A series of meetings with the Commission and the
Council Secretariat, as well as training programs,
have taken place for the best preparation for Cyprus
Presidency.
21
Way Forward
 Need to make sure that by 2012, the
national reduction target of 20% on
national legislation is achieved monitoring the implementation of the
sectoral reduction proposals.
 Better use of the Consultation Guide, the
IA questionnaire and the Guide on Legal
Drafting.
 As the Cyprus presidency is approaching,
we will promote further cooperation with
the Trio, the Commission and the Council
Secretariat.
22
Need for Change



BR is an important initiative both at
the European and national level.
For a successful result, it is
essential to ensure continuous
effort and cooperation between the
Public Service, the Social
Stakeholders and the Business
World.
An initiative contributing in
changing the culture and the way
of thinking in the private and the
public sector, leading to the
improvement of the Public Sector
and thus increasing the trust of
businesses and citizens.
23
How to find us


National Website on Better Regulation:
www.better-regulation.org.cy
Contacts:
 Savia Orphanidou
22601195
[email protected]

Elpida Heracleous
22601194
[email protected]
24
Thank you for your attention!
25