Brussels writes the rules, Central Europe adds the paperwork

The European Union (EU) has established rules for economic cooperation, but Central European nations often impose additional regulations that complicate matters. This "gold-plating" behavior is evident in Poland, where a report identified 100 instances of excessive regulation in the implementation of EU law. Georgia and Armenia, both former Soviet republics, rank higher on the EU's economic freedom index than most of the Union's post-communist members. However, the question remains whether they will maintain this lead if they join the EU.

The EU's emphasis on detailed paperwork, reminiscent of Soviet-era practices, is a relic of the past. In the years following 1989, Central European nations had to rewrite their laws twice, once to build market economies and again to align with EU requirements. Administrations learned to view directives as exams, often adding more rules than necessary to ensure compliance.

The EU has proposed a "pact against gold-plating" to address this issue. The pact requires member states to declare and justify each requirement they add to EU law, with a review-and-removal process within the European Semester targeting national rules that obstruct the single market. A declaration to sign the pact is expected by the end of the year, with a summit scheduled for October 15-16.

However, Poland's commitment to the pact is lagging behind. A deregulation drive called SprawdzaMY, launched by Rafał Brzoska in 2025, identified 100 instances of gold-plating in various sectors. Poland's transposition of EU directives, such as DAC6, is often premature but delayed in other areas. The country has already passed 11 laws based on the deregulation proposals but is still one of the EU's nine member states with high deficits in transposition.