No administrative burden has been added from Brussels since the 'one in, one out' principle started in 2022.

Omissions

• The 'one in, one out' rule covers only the administrative costs (burden) generated by new Commission initiatives; it does not cap total regulatory or compliance costs and does not cover the cumulative stock of existing EU law.
• The rule binds the Commission's proposals, not the final legal act: the European Parliament and Council can and do amend proposals and may add administrative requirements during the legislative process.
• The Commission's own framework retains exemptions/off-setting flexibilities, so 'one in, one out' is not an absolute prohibition on any new administrative requirement.
• The Commission simultaneously pursues targets to reduce existing administrative burdens by at least 25% (35% for SMEs), which shows that substantial burdens inherited from existing legislation remain; a zero *net addition* from new proposals does not mean the burden level is low or falling overall.
• No independent audit or evaluation confirming that the net outcome was exactly zero in every year since 2022 was found in the available search results; the confirmation rests on the Commission's own description and annual burden reporting.
• The start date is approximately correct: the approach was tested in 2021 and 'rolled out in full since 2022', so 'since 2022' is a fair characterisation of full application.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission – 2022 Annual Burden Survey"The new 'one in, one out' approach, tested in 2021 and rolled out in full since 2022, focuses on the impacts of costs of Commission's proposals." The survey also states that it "includes the 'one in, one out' approach reported on in the next section, under which the Commission offsets new burdens imposed on" economic operators.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission – Better regulation (official policy page)"The 'one in, one out' approach ensures that all burdens introduced by the Commission initiatives are considered and administrative burdens are offset by" equivalent reductions; the same page states the framework "will help the Commission to achieve the reduction of existing administrative burdens by at least 25%, and by 35% for SMEs".
• PrimaryEUR-Lex – Communication COM(2021) 219 'Better regulation: Joining forces to make better laws'"We will now strengthen the burden reduction effort further through a 'one in, one out' approach whereby, when introducing new burdens, we" offset them by reducing equivalent existing burdens at EU level.
• PrimaryEuropean Commission – REFIT programme page"2023 – Commission publishes the 2022 Annual Burden Survey which reports among others on the first year of full implementation of the 'one in, one out' approach".