Analysis: Beyond Gold-Plating: Getting national implementation right in the Single Market
A well-functioning single market is key to EU competitiveness. However, many barriers remain. The National Board of Trade Sweden has analysed one phenomenon that makes trade and movement across European borders more difficult than necessary: gold-plating.
What is gold-plating?
Gold-plating occurs when national rules, obligations or procedures go beyond what the underlying EU legislation requires, or make compliance more burdensome than necessary. This may involve, for example, a broader scope, stricter requirements, additional reporting obligations or more complicated administrative procedures. However, the term is often used loosely, which is itself a problem.
What is the problem with gold-plating?
A common EU rule does not necessarily create a common experience for businesses. Companies must deal not only with legislation, but also with national guidance, forms, portals, evidence requirements, fees, inspections, local permits and processing times.
When these requirements differ between Member States, they can lead to additional costs, duplicate registrations and more complicated procedures, making cross-border trade more difficult, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses.
At the same time, not every national addition is unlawful. The problem arises when national differences are not transparent, justified or proportionate.
How can we identify gold-plating?
The assessment must begin with the underlying EU legislation, its level of harmonisation and the precise national obligation concerned. The appropriate unit of analysis is the individual obligation, not the national regulatory regime as a whole. The legal classification must also be kept separate from the assessment of the economic burden.
What should be done when barriers are identified?
The diagnosis must determine the remedy. A lawful national addition may require greater transparency, a proportionality assessment or political coordination. Incorrect or disproportionate application of EU law requires correction and effective enforcement. Administrative fragmentation may instead be addressed through common forms, interoperable systems, one-stop shops and more predictable procedures.
How can we make sure that identified barriers are actually removed?
Evidence must lead to action. Information from notification procedures, proportionality assessments, SOLVIT cases and complaints should be used systematically to identify recurring problems. Once an unjustified barrier has been identified, there must be a national or EU-level function with the capacity to ensure that it is corrected.
Why is this important?
The way EU rules are implemented and applied nationally has a direct impact on European competitiveness. Simplifying EU legislation will not be enough if businesses continue to face divergent or disproportionate requirements when they enter another Member State.
The European Commission has announced a toolkit to help Member States identify and prevent gold-plating. This is a timely initiative, but the toolkit must distinguish between different legal situations. Otherwise, the EU risks measuring the wrong problem and selecting the wrong remedy.
What is the National Board of Trade Sweden?
The National Board of Trade is the Swedish government agency for international trade, the EU internal market and trade policy. Our mission is to facilitate free and open trade with transparent rules as well as free movement in the EU internal market. We provide the Swedish Government with independent analyses, reports and policy recommendations and take into account the views of businesses of all sizes in international trade policy-related matters.