Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant pledged full support of Slovenia's EU presidency for the elimination of red tape as he held working talks on Friday with former Bavarian premier Edmund Stoiber, the head of the EU High Level Group on Administrative Burdens.
"Europe has become too bureaucratic over the past decades, regulations are too complex and they impose excessive costs on the economy. It is good that this trend is now reversing," Virant told STA.
According to him, Stoiber's group will play a vital role by giving the European Commission specific proposals for reducing administrative barriers.
Virant said this was also one of the priorities of Slovenia's EU presidency, so he told Stoiber that the presidency and the high level group will maintain ongoing contact.
One of the ideas of the Slovenian presidency is to organise a conference with the European Commission and the European Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises at which companies would present proposals for cutting red tape.
Virant also presented Slovenia's experience in this field, saying that Slovenia has become a role model with its policies and many other countries are following its lead.
EU leaders made the commitment at the March 2007 summit that EU-level administrative burdens will be reduced by 25% by 2012.
The high level group entrusted with this task comprises 15 independent experts and reports to European Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen.
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