Sandra Särav, Deputy Secretary General of the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, convened the group. This group helps the European Commission reduce bureaucracy. The group is not official but an Estonian initiative.
The group's name in English is 'Friends of Simplification'. In Estonian, it does not have a good name. The group includes seven countries that think like Estonia. Särav does not say which countries are in the group.
The group's goal is to advise the European Commission on which laws to change. Särav said the group will make specific proposals. They will provide a list of laws to simplify or repeal.
The idea came from Särav's meeting with the head of the cabinet of the Commissioner for Economy. They discussed how member states can help with simplification. Särav promised to create the group and update Estonia's list.
The list will also include principles that Europe should follow. For example, laws should expire if not extended. The group also recommends harmonizing terminology and sharing data.
Estonia also wants legal peace for businesses. This means no new laws will be introduced for some time. Särav said the EU has introduced 13,000 new laws since 2019, while the US has introduced only 3,000.
Estonia's goal is to reduce the number of laws. Currently, the ministry is awaiting advice from other countries. The list is planned to be submitted to the European Commission in May.