The new European Commission has rejected the UK Government’s call to set up an independent body to scrutinize EU regulation and impact assessments before and after legislative proposals are adopted by the executive. Jean-Claude Juncker’s spokeswoman, Natasha Bertaud, told EurActiv that impact assessments would remain an internal matter before proposals were adopted. Frans Timmermans, Juncker’s choice for the new post of vice president in charge of better regulation, would ensure their quality, she said, after pointing to EU treaties governing Commission procedures. Currently, research on the impact of regulation is looked over by an internal Commission department. It is then...