Valdis Dombrovskis wrote in ECO that the European economy needs less bureaucracy and more focus on growth, arguing redundant regulation raises costs and deters investment. He says the European Commission's wide simplification programme aims to make rules work better for citizens and businesses. Business owners and those interacting with EU rules should watch upcoming simplification measures that may affect cross-border paperwork and compliance.
Dombrovskis: reduce bureaucracy, boost EU growth
Sunday, 15 February 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
Valdis Dombrovskis is the European Commissioner for Economy and Productivity, Execution and Simplification, and in the recent comments he warned that excessive and redundant regulatory obligations raise costs and deter investment. He argues that reducing bureaucracy and simplifying rules is important to boost growth and lower compliance burdens for businesses.
The European Commission's simplification programme is an EU initiative to reduce administrative burden and cut redundant regulatory obligations across member states to lower costs and support growth. Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has argued that the programme should reduce bureaucracy because excessive rules raise costs and can deter investment, which may speed up procedures for businesses and public services used by residents in Portugal.
The European Commission is the EU’s executive body based in Brussels that proposes legislation, enforces EU rules and manages day‑to‑day EU policies; it is led by a President, currently Ursula von der Leyen. Commission proposals on harmonising business rules or introducing preferences can directly affect trade, regulation and competitiveness for companies and residents across all member states, including Portugal.
