EU's Juncker cuts new laws to slash red-tape

New EU executive head Jean-Claude Juncker told lawmakers Tuesday he would cut dozens of proposed laws stuck in the byzantine Brussels process, in an effort to trim red tape.
"Europe's big priorities are growth and jobs," Juncker told the European Parliament as he unveiled the commission's top goals for 2015.
Juncker's commission aims to boost the economy and win back an increasingly sceptical public alienated by Brussels bureaucracy.
Accordingly, the commission will withdraw or change stalled laws on waste recycling and clean air, although it intends to push new versions through parliament.
Juncker's European Commission, which took office in November, will also push through laws on tax transparency after the "Luxleaks" scandal over Luxembourg's tax breaks for big companies while he was prime minister.
Juncker said the commission would only bring in 23 new planned laws in the coming year, largely focused on a huge 315-billion-euro ($380 billion) investment plan to kickstart Europe's flagging economy.
But Juncker's right-hand man, Frans Timmermans, faced cries of "shame" in parliament as he revealed that the commission was dropping plans on energy tax and recycling, while a law on emissions would be changed.
"We will withdraw current waste proposals and come back with a stronger proposal," he said.
Juncker's huge investment plan will go before EU national leaders at a summit later this week.