The legislation among the State, the Regions and the European Union

The latest Report 2026 published by the Observatory for legislation and public policies of the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament

The 2026 Report on the Legislation among the State, the Regions and the European Union provides, in line with established practice, an overview of legislative developments at the national, regional and European Union levels, as well as across selected major European democracies.

A particularly noteworthy development in this edition is the first-time use of Norma, an artificial intelligence chatbot designed to facilitate intuitive access to legislative activity through exclusively public and officially certified data. Developed under the supervision of the Administration of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Norma forms part of the broader initiatives undertaken by the Committee overseeing documentation activities within the Chamber’s Bureau to promote the use of artificial intelligence in parliamentary work.

Key Findings and Innovations of the 2026 Report on Legislation

1. Artificial Intelligence in Parliamentary Activities

• First-time use of Norma, an AI-powered chatbot designed to facilitate access to legislative data.

• Adoption of AI guidelines for Members of Parliament, emphasising human oversight, accountability, transparency and reliability.

• Launch of a new AI-supported platform for monitoring legislative developments.

  
  

2. AI-Driven Assessment of Legislative Stability

• Introduction of an AI-assisted indicator measuring legislative instability.

• Findings reveal that 44% of converted decree-laws underwent amendments within 180 days, compared with 13% of ordinary laws.

• Emerging potential of AI-based tools to support evidence-based legislative assessment.

  
  

3. Parliamentary Reform and Evidence-Based Policymaking

• Approval of the 2026 reform of the Rules of Procedure of the Chamber of Deputies, applicable from the next parliamentary term.

• Strengthening of parliamentary oversight and public policy evaluation mechanisms.

• Greater integration of regulatory impact assessment into parliamentary decision-making.

  
  

4. Persistent Challenges to Legislative Quality

• Continued reliance on emergency decree-laws, accounting for 34.4% of legislation adopted during the current parliamentary term.

• Legislative fragmentation and limited stability of regulatory interventions.

• Introduction of procedural reforms aimed at improving legislative efficiency while preserving parliamentary deliberation.

  
  

5. European Integration and Multilevel Legislative Governance

• Continued predominance of EU regulations over directives and increasing reliance on delegated and implementing acts.

• Growing involvement of the Italian Parliament in EU legislative processes, particularly through subsidiarity scrutiny.

• Renewed attention to the relationship between European harmonisation and national legislative autonomy.

  
  

6. Strengthened Comparative European Perspective

• Expanded comparative analysis of legislative developments in France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom.

• Greater attention to parliamentary procedures and institutional responses to political instability.

• Identification of shared challenges concerning legislative efficiency, democratic accountability and regulatory quality.

Overall, the 2026 Report highlights an evolving parliamentary model increasingly oriented towards evidence-based policymaking, AI-assisted legislative analysis and public policy evaluation, while revealing persistent tensions between regulatory efficiency, legislative quality and democratic accountability.