How does ex-ante Impact Assessment work in the EU?

Ex-ante impact assessment (IA) represents an attempt to provide, in advance of legislating, a coherent analysis of the reasoning that lies behind, and the foreseeable effects of, any proposed measure or policy initiative. Initially launched at European Union level in 2002, an impact assessment text, often running to several hundred pages, is now routinely attached by the European Commission to every significant legislative proposal it presents.   This briefing examines the following points: 1) Brief history of the EU impact assessment process, 2) Impact assessment in the European Commission, 3) Impact assessment in the Council of Ministers and European Parliament, 4) Future reform of the impact assessment system The inclusion of Better Regulation in the portfolio of the Commission's new first Vice-President, Frans Timmermans, is a strong indication that impact assessment may play an enhanced role within the Juncker Commission.