One year into the Commission’s Omnibus initiatives on regulatory simplification, it is worth taking a first look at where we stand. Not to list measures or processes, but to ask a more practical question: after a year of promised simplification, is Europe becoming a place where it is easier to invest, operate and grow?

If you run a business in Europe today, this question is far from abstract. Geopolitical tensions are rising, security concerns have returned, and economic power is increasingly used as leverage. At the same time, global competition is intensifying, while structural challenges, from persistently high industrial energy prices to unresolved issues around decarbonisation and carbon leakage, continue to weigh on investment decisions.

In this context, competitiveness is not some jargon à la mode. Europe does not lack good ideas, strategies or reports. What it often struggles with is ambitious execution. And in our current, tougher world, that gap matters more than ever. This is a useful lens through which to assess Europe’s competitiveness agenda, and what the first year of the Omnibus approach has actually delivered.

From a shift in tone to results on the ground

There has clearly been a change. Competitiveness is back on the political agenda, and simplification is no longer treated as a side issue. The Omnibus approach reflects this shift and deserves recognition.

For years, adding rules was often seen as proof of ambition. Today, there is broader awareness that excessive complexity weighs on investment and slows growth. The key question, one year on, is whether this change in mindset is translating into tangible improvements for companies.

From a policy perspective, progress is visible. Burden-reduction targets have been set, some rules are being revisited, and engagement with businesses has intensified through implementation dialogues, reality checks and stress-testing exercises. Many companies and trade associations welcome this more open exchange, even if experience shows that the quality and timing of consultations can still improve.

On the ground, however, the picture remains mixed. Many obligations adopted in recent years are only now entering into force, while new initiatives continue to emerge. For companies, this can feel like running on a treadmill: significant effort, but limited relief. The real test of simplification is therefore no longer its existence on paper, but whether it changes decisions on investment, production or location.

This tension is particularly visible in areas central to Europe’s industrial future. Energy costs remain structurally high, and conditions for companies to invest in decarbonisation are still fragile. Progress towards more integrated energy markets and a genuine Energy Union remains incomplete, limiting efficiency and affordability across the Single Market.

In parallel, complexity persists in social and labour-related rules, where procedures remain heavy and digital solutions slow to materialise. New initiatives are emerging, while concrete prospects for simplifying the existing framework remain limited. Together, these factors continue to weigh on investment decisions.

The challenge, therefore, is not only the stock of existing regulation, but also the constant flow of new rules. Even well-intended simplification can be offset if additional layers continue to accumulate without a clear view of their cumulative impact. As FEDIL Chairman Georges Rassel has warned, Europe has only begun thinning the regulatory forest; much of the work still lies ahead.

This matters all the more as Europe faces major investment needs in innovation, infrastructure and resilience, as highlighted in the Draghi and Letta reports. Reducing unnecessary regulatory burden is not about lowering standards. It is about creating conditions that allow investment, growth and economic strength to materialise in practice.

The single market: Where simplification must deliver

For Luxembourg, this debate is anything but theoretical. As a small and open economy, our companies operate in the Single Market every day. When rules are aligned and predictable, business flows. When they are not, frictions appear quickly.

This is why the Single Market is the real test of Europe’s simplification agenda. On paper, the principle is clear: one European rule instead of twenty-seven national ones. In practice, fragmentation remains widespread. Divergent implementation, optional regimes and additional national requirements continue to complicate cross-border activity, often in areas essential for scaling up.

For many companies, particularly in services, these barriers act like invisible tariffs. They do not appear on invoices, but they raise costs, create uncertainty and discourage expansion. And unlike external barriers, these are obstacles Europe can address itself.

Both Enrico Letta and Mario Draghi converge on this point: Europe’s competitiveness depends heavily on a Single Market that works better in practice. Removing long-standing internal barriers would be one of the most effective ways to unlock growth without lowering standards or mobilising new public spending.

For firms operating across borders, simplification and a functioning Single Market are inseparable. Cutting obligations at EU level delivers results only if national divergence is also limited and enforcement consistent. Otherwise, complexity is not reduced, it is simply redistributed.

Turning intent into impact

Europe’s diagnosis is now widely shared, and the urgency is clear, particularly in a world where economic strength increasingly shapes geopolitical outcomes. What will matter most is the ability to turn intent into impact.

That requires choices. Simplification cannot focus solely on reporting or procedures. As Georges Rassel has put it plainly, bad legislation remains bad legislation. Making it lighter does not correct its flaws. In some cases, the most effective option is to step back, to erase and rewind.

It also requires coherence over time. Adding new layers in one area while cutting burdens in another weakens credibility. When Europe struggles to follow through on decisions it has already taken, it risks signalling hesitation at a moment when reliability has become a strategic asset.

In today’s global economy, complexity is not neutrality. It is a disadvantage. One year after the Omnibus, Europe has taken a step in the right direction. The challenge now is to build on this momentum and ensure that simplification delivers tangible results for companies.

Clear and simple rules, a Single Market that works in practice, and policies that turn ambition into action are not abstract objectives. They are the conditions for investment, growth and economic strength. Europe has set the direction. Staying the course will make the difference.

Francesco Fiaschi
Head of European Affairs at FEDIL