Working with Impact Assessment in the European Union - Montesquieu Instituut

Target Group

Officials from most Ministries and agencies who are responsible for following policy dossiers at the EU level.

Description

This two-day training seminar offers participants an intensive and practical introduction to integrated (social, environmental and economic) Impact Assessment (IA) in the context of the European Union institutions. This key tool for Smart Regulation is becoming increasingly central to the policy-making and legislative processes of the European Union.

Method

A combination of presentations, case studies and group exercises, as well as experience sharing between participants. The seminar is developed with a strong emphasis on practical and hands-on information on how to read and develop an impact analysis. The exercises are systematically tailored on real cases and impact assessments, which will allow the participants to confront their own exercise results with the real impact assessments carried out by the European Commission and/or a member state.

Based on case-study materials participants conduct a Cost-Benefit Analysis on different policy options. It is highly recommendable participants bring their own laptop, since the analysis is carried out using Excel worksheets and require the use of a laptop.

Objectives

By the end of the seminar, participants will understand:

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  why impact assessment has become an ever more important part of the policy-making and legislative processes in the European Union;
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  the key analytical steps followed by the European Commission in preparing an impact assessment;
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  the logic and approach of the main quantitative and qualitative techniques and tools for carrying out an impact assessment;
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  the opportunities for stakeholder and Member State input into the preparation of the European Commission impact assessment;
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  the responsibilities and commitments made by the Council of Ministers and the European Parliament to work with European Commission impact assessments, and to elaborate their own impact assessments on substantive amendments;
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  the possibilities of national authorities to work with and respond to European impact assessments.

The emphasis of the seminar is very much directed towards offering participants a practical understanding of this increasingly important policy-development tool.

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