Welcome for Edmund Stoiber's red tape report
Posted, February 21, 2012 @ 17:00
European Parliament internal market committee chairman Malcolm Harbour MEP has welcomed a report by Edmund Stoiber, former Minister-President of Bavaria, on reducing red tape - presented to the European Commission President today.
Called "Europe can do more", the report sets out a list of 74 examples of good practice on initiatives such as e-government and cross-border activities. It says that a third of EU-related administration burdens come from inefficient national implementation of EU law. The report was requested by the commission to chart progress on a target set in 2007 to cut administrative burdens by 25 percent by 2012. Speaking at the press conference after receiving the report, EU commission president Barroso said he intended to extend the work of Mr Stoiber's High Level Working Group on administrative burdens.
Mr Stoiber's report coincides with the publication of a letter from 12 Prime Ministers - including the two PMs in the European Conservatives and Reformists group's family - setting out eight clear priorities for growth. These include: developing the single market and raising standards of implementation; creating a truly digital single market and a single market for energy; establishing a European Research Area and putting demand-led innovation at the heart of Europe's research and development strategy. The heads of Governments also call for decisive action to create more open global markets, with conclusion of Free Trade Agreements and deepening economic integration with the USA. They call for an ambitious programme to reduce the burden of EU regulation, to support micro-enterprises, and to promote well-functioning labour markets which foster labour mobility. The leaders also call for steps to create a robust, dynamic and competitive financial services sector.
Malcolm Harbour MEP, from the European Conservatives and Reformists group in the European Parliament, said: "There is growing consensus amongst European leaders that greater liberalisation, competition, and an extension of the Single Market are obvious ways of stimulating job-creation and growth. Political will is now needed to deliver these objectives. That is why the letter from 12 heads of government is particularly welcome. These leaders have laid out clear, bankable commitments that will create healthy conditions for businesses to expand, grow and create new jobs.
"The parliament's internal market committee has already laid much groundwork to deliver a digital single market with greater professional mobility. We will also work on a major review of public procurement rules which will encourage small and innovative enterprises to provide better value services for taxpayers. We also plan to work on beefing up enforcement so that all national authorities put the single market amongst their top priorities.
"Edmund Stoiber's work, in identifying ways of reducing bureaucracy and spreading good practice, is commendable. He is right that too often national civil servants have over-interpreted EU law and made it more burdensome on business. We are asking for more transparency to be built into the EU legislation itself through correlation tables. These will enable members of the public to compare the initial legislation with the national legislation to determine whether it is being over-interpreted.
"However, we must also ask ourselves whether the volumes of European laws are really essential to ensure the functioning of the single market. Less legislation, correctly implemented, will help entrepreneurs to soar. Excessive legislation, over-implemented, will pin them down."