In Search for ‘Good’ Evidence and Its Use for Better EU Legislation

A Growing Emphasis on Evidence-Based LawmakingThe European Union (EU), as a regulatory authority, 1 has a long history of evidence-based policymaking, dating back to 2002. 2 With its 2015 Better Regulation Agenda, 3 the European Commission stressed the importance of evidence-based legislation 4 as a means to ensure that a policy is developed on the basis of a "systematical analysis of the potential economic, social and environmental impacts of proposed policies".Evidence-based legislation should thereby help policymakers to draft 'high-quality' legislation that is effective and efficient.The Commission has reiterated its commitment to 'evidence-based lawmaking' in its 2021 Communication on Better Regulation. 5 Over the past few decades, the EU machinery for evidence-based lawmaking has progressively become more sophisticated.This has resulted in new procedures devised to ensure that legislative proposals are based on an assessment of the potential impact of the legislative measure. 6 This emphasis on evidence-based lawmaking requires a thorough