SMEs Present Proposals to Cut Red Tape

Bled, 17 April

The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises presented at a conference in Bled on Thursday specific proposals to reduce administrative barriers by 25% by 2012. The document was submitted to the Slovenian EU presidency and the European Commission.

The proposed measures, which refer mainly to health and safety at work, personal data protection, environment and social affairs, will be an excellent basis for measures in this field, Public Administration Minister Gregor Virant told the participants of the Conference on Reduction of Administrative Burdens on SMEs.
European Industry Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said that cutting red tape was vital for the future of Europe's economy and the achievement of Lisbon Strategy goals. "Our aim is to prepare legislation which will not put too much burden on companies and will not be contradictory," Verheugen said.
The Commissioner pointed out that the EU had already made significant headway in this field, having already considered 100 initiatives in the recent years and planning to introduce another 50 in the coming year. The target of a 25% reduction in red tape by 2012 should be achieved, he said.
Yet Verheugen also pointed out that member states needed to do their share of the work, as many problems are created by national legislations. Virant said Slovenia had been systematically working on reducing red tape since 2004.
However, Miroslav Klun, the head of the Slovenian Chamber of Craft and Small Business, retorted that Slovenia was "still among the countries with the highest degree of bureaucracy, which citizens and businesses alike experience every day."
The conference was organised by the Public Administration Ministry in conjunction with the European Commission, the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and the Chamber of Craft and Small Business.

SMEs Present Proposals to Cut Red Tape

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