The Politics of Simplifying an Elephant: Drivers of EU Legislative Complexity

EU legislation has become very difficult to understand, but simplifying it is not an easy task. This invites the further question as to why legislative acts are not made simpler, more readable and easier to apply in the first instance. A large part of European public opinion is in favour of simplification as the complexity of European regulation has reached unprecedented levels. After 19 out of the 27 heads of member states signed a letter on simplification addressed to the president of the European Council on 20 October 2025, one might expect that addressing this issue would be a fait accompli. These 19 heads of state represent the vast majority of the member states, and in terms of their combined voting power they represent much more than the 65% majority required for the Council to adopt legislation. But despite the passing of a series of ‘omnibuses’ aimed at rapidly simplifying several pieces of legislation at the same time, the process is not moving forward quickly. Were the reverberations of this letter not loud enough? Why is the debate on simplification not moving quickly to achieve the same aims?

This policy brief examines the debate on simplification and explains why the main problem lies not so much in the intricacy of the legislation itself but rather in the policy approaches associated with it. It examines the underlying reasons that have led to such complexity in European legislation and suggests measures that could be taken to make simplicity an achievable feature of the EU acquis communautaire.

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