Statement by Commissioner Dombrovskis at the European Parliament plenary debate on stopping gold-plating and relieving SMEs

Madame Chair, Minister, Honourable Members.

Thank you for this opportunity to discuss the issue of gold-plating, right after the 2026 State of the Union Address by President von der Leyen that also addressed this problem.

I welcome the European Parliament's attention to this topic, which is highly relevant for the functioning of the Single Market and for businesses across the European Union.

The Communication on a Clearer, Simpler and Better Enforced EU Rulebook adopted this April announced an initiative to tackle the issue of regulatory gold-plating.

It follows up on the Single Market Strategy and the identification of the “Terrible 10” most harmful barriers.

I would like to quote President von der Leyen from earlier today in this house:

“Yes, we are doing our best at the European level to cut red tape. But now it is time for the Member States to step up. If we are serious about simplification, we also need a pact against gold-plating.”

Gold-plating happens when a Member State, when transposing or implementing EU law in a given policy area, introduces a wider scope, stricter rules or obligations that go beyond the requirements set by the EU legal act.

Creating more burdensome procedures than what is necessary to implement the EU law can also be considered gold-plating.

Gold-plating is problematic for several reasons.

Divergent national rules create uneven conditions for businesses across Member States. This may distort competition and fragment the single market.

Excessive national requirements may also increase compliance costs, especially for SMEs, and can discourage cross-border activity and undermine competitiveness.

Large firms can often absorb complexity, SMEs cannot. This is why simplification is also a fairness issue.

As today's debate shows, the issue of gold-plating is high on the political agenda.

It is part of the broader simplification agenda and linked to the “One Europe, One Market” roadmap.