Brussels aims to ease top 10 most burdensome SME laws
The European Commission has identified the 10 EU rules that are most burdensome on small and medium enterprises, which comprise the backbone of the EU economy and the absolute vast majority of the Maltese economy, and has said it will take action to ease those rules.
The European Commission has identified the 10 EU rules that are most burdensome on small and medium enterprises, which comprise the backbone of the EU economy and the absolute vast majority of the Maltese economy, and has said it will take action to ease those rules.
The rules in the crosshairs range from VAT to labour legislation and from data protection to working time.
The move comes following consultation with 1,000 SMEs and business organisations which sought to identify the top 10 most burdensome EU laws found to be impeding jobs and growth.
It transpires that SMEs see the biggest difficulties and costs as a consequence of the rules regarding the REACH chemical legislation, value added tax, product safety, recognition of professional qualifications, data protection, waste legislation, labour market related legislation, recording equipment for road transport, public procurement and the modernised customs code.
Across the EU, 20.8 million SMEs create 85 per cent of all new jobs in Europe, employ two-thirds of the pan-EU workforce and contribute significantly to innovation and growth.
European Commission President José Manuel Barroso comments, “The Commission is making sure that EU legislation is fit for purpose and helps European businesses to grow and to create jobs. This is why we have put smart regulation at the heart of our policymaking. And this is why we want to ease the lives of our small and medium sized enterprises, which are most important engines for Europe’s economy. We will work hard not to disappoint your expectations.”
The Commission will now set about addressing the earmarked areas through the new Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT) launched last December. Through the programme, the EU’s regulatory acquis is being screened for bur- dens, gaps and inefficiencies in order to evaluate and if appropriate revise those laws where the assessment points to a need for action.
The Commission is expected to announce follow up actions by June, also taking into account the outcome of the ongoing legislative processes.
European Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship Antonio Tajani comments, “SMEs, which are creating the lion’s share of all new jobs in Europe, are the key to get out of this crisis.
“Our legislation needs to be designed with SMEs (and especially new entrepreneurs) in mind: it must be smart, it must be simple and it must be stable. The better we listen to SMEs concerns, the better they can help us to return to growth.”
The consultation also showed that small businesses appreciated reduced payment deadlines under the Late Payments Directive, which enter into force across the EU on Saturday and which have already been implemented in Malta, as well as an initiative to allow more SMEs to benefit from simplified accounting/auditing regimes.