The development of Better Regulation policies in Portugal over the past few years has been part of the government’s reforms to modernise the economy and enhance growth, and to meet the goals of the European Union’s Lisbon Agenda on economic growth and job creation. The need to address deep seated structural and economic problems has facilitated the emergence of a shared understanding among politicians and civil servants that in-depth changes are necessary. There is a widespread recognition that the public sector must become more cost-efficient and closer to public needs, which requires a transformation of the administrative culture. Another priority has been to make the business environment more dynamic and innovative to increase the competitiveness of the economy and its capacity to attract foreign direct investment. Portugal’s relatively low ranking in various competitiveness benchmarks has been an important driver for the launch of the Simplex Programme for administrative simplification and e-government.