Slightly hard to categorise these measures, but roughly:
- 6 items of promised legislation
- 5 new institutional arrangements
- 5 commitments/promises on things (not) to do
- 4 ongoing pieces of work
- 2 procedural changes
- 1 clarification
- 1 relabelling
Lots of talk about regulatory alignment right now, so here's a go at unpacking what it involves, and what happens when you step away.
Let’s start with a model world, with 3 states
1/
In this world, each state has some different regulations (each arrow): how much arrow point in the same direction shows how much they match up with their counterpart in other countries
(yes, it's more complicated than this, but you get the drift)
2/
Each of these regulations forms some kind of barrier to trade
3/
While not unprecedented, it's unusual for such a letter to be written: treat it as a demonstration of collective intent and openness
2/
For those in the UK unfamiliar with #EuropeDay, it's the main occasion when the EU recalls its roots in the 1950 Schuman Declaration as a peace project, hence the opening of the letter