UNICE seeks reform of regulations which strangle competion

Date: 12/10/1995

By Tim Jones

EUROPEAN employers are calling for wide-ranging reform of administrative, employment and environmental regulations - overseen by a Commissioner and supplemented by the adoption of an EU regulatory policy.

The Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations (UNICE) says “many regulations are unnecessary, costly and complex with standards that vary too widely between countries”.

In a 58-page report launched today (12 October) called “Releasing Europe's Potential”, UNICE says the main problems to be confronted are the volume and complexity of the rules as well as sudden changes and variation in enforcement.

Its report, based on five surveys, 25 workshops and 50 in-depth interviews with 2,500 companies in 20 countries, claims this is raising costs, reducing working flexibility and diverting precious managerial time.

“Europe is rather strangled with regulations,” says UNICE's Secretary-General Zygmunt Tyszkiewicz, while admitting that many are imposed on businesses by member state governments rather than the EU itself.

“We don't pretend for a minute you can sweep them all away, but we do claim that you can simplify them, streamline them, smooth them out, make them easier to apply and make life easier for companies,” Tyszkiewicz said.

In a series of recommendations, UNICE says: “New and legally-binding procedures” should be established to ensure that both the Union and national governments consult with business before new regulations are drawn up.