Netherlands regulatory simplification initiative

The Dutch government has launched an initiative to simplify regulations through four key ministries: Justice and Security, Climate and Green Growth, Education, Culture and Science, and Housing and Spatial Planning. State Secretary Eric van der Burg informed the House of Representatives that the plan focuses on technical legislative changes rather than major systemic overhauls.

Under the proposal, an annual ‘simplification law’ will be introduced to facilitate easier interaction between citizens and the government and to improve the efficiency of administrative bodies. To accelerate the process, the government suggests shorter processing times, such as reducing the public comment period from six weeks to four and limiting the time available for advisory bodies like the Council of State. This would allow laws to take effect after one year instead of two.

According to the coalition agreement between D66, VVD, and CDA, increasing government efficiency could yield up to 400 million euros annually. While specific savings for this first law were not detailed, the government previously aimed to simplify 500 rules by this summer, ultimately achieving just over 400.