Reducing regulatory burdens on SMEs
When a big company spends €1 per employee in connection with regulations, a small business has to spend €10 on average. Excessively complex or burdensome legislation do not reach their target, and result in scare SME resources being spent just applying the rules rather than growing the business and creating jobs. This must be constantly kept in mind by the European Commission, Council and Parliament when developing legislation.
The European Commission in May 2015 committed to applying the "think small first" principle more thoroughly when preparing initiatives. Full transparency will be needed on how this commitment is implemented, in particular through the SME test that the Commission will systematically use in its future legislative impact assessments.
BusinessEurope supports the proposals laid down in the proposal for an inter-institutional agreement on better regulation, which requires to carry out impact assessments on significant amendments submitted by the Council and the European Parliament. This is essential for reducing the volume and improving the quality of EU regulation applicable to SMEs and entrepreneurs.
Contact
