“How von der Leyen blindsided Brussels with her deregulation drive”

Ursula von der Leyen has begun her second term as European Commission president with a lightning-fast deregulation drive…

POLITICO spoke with figures across the Brussels policymaking world, from Commission officials at different levels of seniority to national diplomats, European Parliament lawmakers, industry and NGOs.

The picture they paint is of a sweeping, rapid and centralized agenda to “simplify” European Union rules and slash burdensome regulations on businesses large and small, reflecting a rapid shift in priorities away from the environment and toward industrial competitiveness.

From Commission staffers “depressed” to see years of work being speedily undone, to Cabinet officials straining for influence under von der Leyen’s centralized working style, the speed and top-down nature of the new deregulation drive has transparency alarm bells ringing in Brussels…

Pretty much no one had been informed. Four Commission officials told POLITICO they learned of the plan — which directly affects their work and which they would be tasked with putting into legislation — from the Budapest speech…

One national diplomat said the lack of information, and the fact that the Commission’s announced plans kept changing scope, range and timeline, creates a “clear credibility issue.”…