Gold-Plating of EU Law

For years, EU law has been "enhanced" in its national implementation by so-called "gold-plating" practices – i.e. supplemented by additional regulations that go beyond EU requirements. "Although these practices have long been criticised, the 'gilding' of EU law is still commonplace, despite repeated commitments, including from the current federal government in Germany," notes cep expert Philipp Eckhardt, who authored the study.

However, the voices calling for gold-plating to be curbed are not getting any quieter. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen recently called on Member States once again to refrain from gold-plating and to implement EU legislation one-to-one. And the federal modernisation agenda agreed upon by the federal and state governments on 4 December 2025 also stipulates that EU law should be implemented in future without additional burdens and obligations for those affected.

The cepStudy presents several strategies for curbing undesirable gold-plating, which should be implemented in a timely manner. The aim is not to ban gold-plating across the board, but to limit it to practices that are considered acceptable, desirable and justified according to objective and uniform criteria.

Eckhardt first calls for a uniform understanding of gold-plating practices in the EU to be established. A clear distinction should be made between desirable and undesirable refinement strategies. In addition, transparency regarding the harmonising nature of individual EU regulations should be increased to provide clarity at an early stage about the remaining scope for action at national level.

Another proposal is the consistent development of guidelines for national implementation. These should clarify open questions – such as the interpretation or application of certain regulations – at an early stage. In order to justify deviations from a 1:1 implementation, Eckhardt also proposes the introduction of "comply or explain" mechanisms at national level. This would require national legislators to justify why they deviate from EU requirements. Finally, Eckhardt recommends actively combing through national legislation to identify and subsequently correct existing excessive implementations of EU law.

(Study only available in German)