Methodology of Gold-Plating Identification and Analysis in the European Directives Transposition

Abstract

The phenomenon of Gold-Plating in the transposition of directives by Member-States is a much-discussed topic in the OECD and the European Union. The opportunistic use of the moment of transposition by the national legislator to "go beyond the directive" (by including new obligations, extending their effects or not taking advantage of derogations) can sometimes be considered a non-transparent legislative practice, which can create unexpected costs and obstacles to the functioning of the internal market. However, there is a lack of proper tools to analyze this phenomenon, to understand its effects on citizens and businesses. As part of the LegImpact project, we sought to develop a methodology for the identification, analysis, and classification of occurrences of Gold-Plating, according to various parameters (incidence, type of obligation, type of impact, transposition deadline, production of effects, etc.).