The process that prepares evidence for political decision-makers on the advantages and disadvantages of possible policy options by assessing their potential impact.

In the EU, impact assessments are undertaken for the most important European Commission initiatives and those having the most far-reaching impacts. They are prepared for:

Commission impact assessments are launched with a call for evidence (previously an inception impact assessment was used), which is published on the Commission's Have Your Say website and invites public feedback on the impact assessment. Impact assessments follow a set of logical steps including, in most cases, a wide-ranging public consultation.

Impact assessments may also be undertaken by the Council of the EU or the European Parliament for significant amendments they propose to legislative proposals.

For more information, see Practice note, Better Regulation agenda: improving EU laws: Impact assessments.