research@hec - Issue #7 - (Page V)

More than half of the judicial regulations currently in force in France are the direct result of decisions made by the European Commission. This means that European law is widely applied within each member country. Alberto Alemanno has chosen this vast field and, more precisely, risk regulation systems as the subject of his research. As part of his doctoral thesis, he conducted a case study of trade in foodstuffs—a trade that, more so than any other, has a greater need to find a balance between the free circulation of products and consumer protection. As a result, he focused on the regulatory mechanisms in place in the United States and within the European Community. The particularity of the European approach (European authorities launched the Better Regulation initiative—the centerpiece of the Lisbon Strategy* —in order to improve the transparency and effectiveness of regulations) raises many questions, one of which is: what can be done to ensure that this initiative does not give rise to a large number of appeals in the European courts of justice, and thereby rebound on its creators? Better Regulation Initiative An Initial Evaluation of the Key Ideas • The implementation of the Better Regulation Initiative, as part off the the European Commission Lisbon Program, aims to control the quality and transparency of regulations issued by • So that this initiative does not backfire on the Commission by instigating a large numbers of appeals, the Commission must improve the quality of its impact studies. M A SPECIFIC APPROACH TO REGULATION While the American regulation model is based on a purely quantitative analysis of the costs and benefits, measured by impact studies, the European model of this system is more ambitious: it encompasses the environmental and social dimensions as well. Its approach is therefore more qua- CONSEQUENCES FOR THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION The Commission has channeled substantial resources into the development of impact studies, which has necessarily raised consumer expectations. Let’s take the example of overbooking: European regulations entitle air passengers to compensation which is considered disproportionate by airlines, especially low-cost ones. Some companies will probably appeal, arguing that the impact study for this measure has litative, and requires the use of several regulatory tools. To achieve this, the initiative promotes: • impact assessment of proposed legislation; • the simplification of existing legislation; • consultation procedures on drafting proposals; • the screening and withdrawal of pending proposals; • the monitoring and reduction of administrative burdens. Impact assessment is the most important of these measures. It is regarded, however, merely as an aid to the legislator and, consequently, is not restrictive. This causes a problem in the sense that target groups (companies, lobbies, consumer associations, etc.), who feel their rights are being infringed upon, could lodge appeals with the body responsible for the quality of impact studies (the Impact Assessment Board), with the aim of showing that the study has not been conducted in a satisfactory or conclusive manner. BIOGRAPHY Alberto Alemanno is a graduate of the University of Turin, the College of Europe and Harvard Law School. He holds a PhD in International Law and Economics (Bocconi University, Milan) and has been an Associate Professor at HEC Paris since January 2009. Before teaching at HEC Paris, he was a member of the New York Bar Association and a Legal Secretary at the European Court of Justice and the European Court of First Instance. His research focuses mainly on European law (internal markets and the WTO), EU regulation and governance and risk management. February - March • research@hec V

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of research@hec - Issue #7

Cover & Table of contents
Business and Research: why Collaborate?
Are Biotechs Profitable?
An Initial Evaluation of the Better Regulation Initiative
The Impact of Religions on Risk-Taking in United States

research@hec - Issue #7