Red tape: Some rights reserved by peretzpup
European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, Antonio Tajani, wants to discover the 10 most restrictive pieces of EU legislation which affect small to medium enterprises (SMEs). He has launched a European-wide consultation until December 21 when the Commission will then analyse the results and consider what should be done to help small business.
I believe it is very important for small businesses in the South West to respond to this consultation. I want business people to really get things off their chest and tell me of their biggest EU regulatory bug bears. Instead of grumbling amongst themselves about EU red tape, they could tell me about their specific issues – and I will raise their concerns with the Commissioner.
Business men and trade organisations routinely complain to me about the EU regulatory burdens on business yet when I challenge them for specific details and suggestions of what EU directives and regulations should be changed or completely removed then I am not overwhelmed with suggestions.
There is now an opportunity to state the problems and recommend solutions to the EU Commission. I challenge South West small businessmen to have their say about each aspect of the EU’s legislative and bureaucratic processes that stand in the way of them developing their own business.
UK small business accounts for 99.9% of all private sector business, 60% of private sector employment and 50% of private sector turnover. They employ 14 million people and have a combined turnover of ￡1,500 billion. They are the backbone of the economy and the key to Britain’s commercial and trading recovery.
As a former small businessman, I am well aware of the red tape, complicated tax, health and safety requirements, employment regulations and other bureaucratic burdens which occupy time that should be spent on developing business opportunities. We must work to rid ourselves of these chains, in particular those imposed by bureaucrats in Brussels.
I want to show the EU Commission the measures they could take to help small business.
Some rights reserved by peretzpup
