Ministry of Justice, Finland

The Meeting in Pictures

In May Finland will host a meeting of the Directors of Better Regulation (DBR). The meeting will be held in Helsinki on 11–12 May 2006. It is organised by the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. The two-day programme involves both formal session and a cultural programme.

The DBR is an informal intergovernmental group of the senior officials from national ministries and the European Commission working on Better Regulation in EU Member States and EU candidate countries. Better Regulation is one of the priorities identified for action at both EU and national level within the context of the Lisbon strategy.

The DBR usually meets twice a year and is chaired by the hosting country, usually the State next holding the presidency of the EU. The mandate of the DBR is to promote and monitor progress on Better regulation amongst EU Member States, candidate states and at EU level.

Ms Astrid Thors, Member of the Finnish Parliament, will open the Conference in Helsinki. The focus of the meeting is to share experience and best practice on work on better regulation and report and comment on development in Member States. The aim is to provide an interactive environment in which delegates can discuss a range of topical better regulation issues, like the assessment of the regulatory impacts, reduction of administrative burden, good quality of drafting, alternatives to regulation etc.

In Finland better regulation has been subject of numerous development projects during recent years. Most topical of these projects is the Better Regulation Action Programme. The project includes a steering group, which includes representatives of Parliament, the highest courts, key industrial and labour organisations, and key ministries.

The drafting of the Action programme is the responsibility of a project group, which includes experts who are proficient in legislative processes and who come from industrial and labour organisations, ministries, the Association of Finnish Municipalities, the Association of Finnish Lawyers, and the National Research Institute on Legal Policy. The steering group is chaired by the Minister of Justice and the project group is chaired by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice. The Action Programme should be drafted by 30 April 2006. Better regulation is part of the programme of the Finnish Presidency and one of its horizontal priorities.

Better regulation to be discussed at the meeting of legislative executives in Helsinki (press release 9.5.2006)
See also practical information, incl. updated agenda

Information on the regulatory impacts on business (The website of the Ministry of Trade and Industry)

Further Information:
Director General Pekka Nurmi, telephone +358 9 1606 7670, and
Researcher Hanna-Leena Iso-Ketola, telephone +358 9 1606 7933
e-mail: firstname.surname@om.fi

The meeting in pictures

Updated on May 11, 2006