EU regulations continue to strangle business
22 May 2006
“In 2004 the EU promised to cut red tape and repeal or simplify 1500 pieces of legislation. Two years later there is little sign of this promise actually being fulfilled. Indeed the alleged emphasis on “better regulation” is producing on average four pieces of new legislation each and every week. This is a burden on business and damaging to our economy.
Gordon Brown has publicly stated that, “approximately half of all new regulations that impact upon business in the UK originate in the EU.” The Dutch government have gone further by calculating that the cost of EU regulation is 2% of GDP. It has been estimated that the cost to UK business since 1998 is in the region of £30 billion.
It seems that the EU emphasis on “better legislation” is designed to allow the commission to seem tough and generate positive headlines. However, existing costly regulations are not repealed and deregulation does not occur
The EU urgently needs to:
- Conduct a full audit of all existing legislation and define clear targets for reduction and removal.
- Subject proposed new legislation to a community wide economic impact assessment, prior to implementation.
National Parliaments and regional Assemblies also need to lift their game in the scrutiny of the directives and their implications.
Failure to act on this urgent issue will mean a continuing growth in damaging legislation and a consequent loss of jobs.”
