Better Regulation in the EU is a perennial and topical question which has important implications for the future direction of EU law. While actions directed at improving the quality and accessibility of EU regulation are not novel, in recent years the Better Regulation Agenda has significantly affected the structural organisation and day-to-day operation of the EU legislative process. Yet, many questions about the future of the Agenda remain, not least in light of Brexit. Exploring the Better Regulation Agenda (and its relation to the overall EU legal and political order) necessitates an integrated, interdisciplinary approach. This edited volume presents insights from economics, political science and legal scholarship. Furthermore, to allow full understanding, it examines institutional practice, where the Agenda is made and shaped on a daily basis. Hence, the book features contributions from the perspective of the work of the main EU institutions: the European Commission, the Parliament, the Council and the Court of Justice. This results in a seminal overview of the subject, of interest to scholars and practitioners alike.

Part I: Introduction and State of Play1. The Multi-faceted Nature of Better Regulation Sacha Garben and Inge Govaere2. Integrating Regulatory Governance and Better Regulation as Reflexive Governance Colin Scott Part II: A Critical Assessment of the Main Elements of the Better Regulation Agenda3. Improving the Quality of EU Legislation: Limits and Opportunities? Helen Xanthaki4. Cost-Benefit Analysis and EU Policy: Limits and Opportunities Andrea Renda5. The Better Regulation Agenda and the Deactivation of EU Competences: Limits and Opportunities Robert Zbíral Part III: Views from EU Institutional Practice6. The European Commission and its Better Regulation Agenda Ben Smulders and Jean-Eric Paquet7. The European Parliament and the Better Law-Making Agenda María José Martínez Iglesias8. The Council: Some Historical and Practical Aspects to the Better Regulation Agenda Jeno Czuczai9. The Member States and the Better Regulation Agenda: The Case of Belgium/FlandersJan de Mulder10. From Better Regulation to Better Adjudication? Impact Assessment and the Court of Justice's Review Julian Nowag and Xavier Groussot Part IV: Broader Perspectives on the Better Regulation Agenda11. Eurolegalism and the Better Regulation Agenda R Daniel Kelemen12. An 'Impact Assessment' of EU Better Regulation Sacha Garben