“It’s vital that business can take full advantage of the EU’s single market. But all too often EU rules are a handicap for firms, hampering their efforts to succeed in the global race. Business people, particularly owners of small firms, are forced to spend too much time complying with pointless, burdensome and costly regulations and that means less time developing a new product, winning contracts or hiring young recruits. I’m determined to change that and to get the EU working for business, not against it.
That’s why I got this Taskforce together, so we could establish from business what they really need. This report makes clear that there are lots of simple and practical ways to cut EU red tape and save businesses across Europe tens of billions of euros.
We must now persuade our European partners and the European Commission to listen to business and to move faster to reform the way Europe regulates. At next week’s European Council, I’ll be calling for a clear commitment to sweep away unnecessary bureaucratic barriers and to unleash private sector growth - helping to secure the economic recovery for all.”
The report of the Business Taskforce can be read here (please click).
Letter from EU business leaders in response to the 'Cutting EU red tape' report from the Business Taskforce, sent Oct. 23 to the Members of the European Council, supported by BCCG:
"To the
Members of the European Council
As you
meet in Brussels
As European
business leaders, we know first hand the challenges that businesses are facing
in the current economic climate. One of the greatest obstacles is problematic,
poorly-understood and burdensome European rules that all too often encumber
business. And this has the biggest impact on the smallest companies,
which we know create 80% of all new EU jobs.
In the
global market place, we believe that the EU should be taking action to make
European business more competitive, and not place excessive and unnecessary
burdens on them that stifles growth and job creation.
Proportionate,
well designed legislation has a key role to play in ensuring regulatory
stability for firms and in creating an even playing field for businesses that
allows them to maximise the benefits of trading across borders. It’s
vital therefore that any EU regulation necessary for the single market is pro-growth
and pro-innovation, enabling not hampering businesses to create jobs and pave
the way towards economic recovery.
To this end, we welcome the Commission’s recent commitments to reduce the burden of EU regulation on business, notably through its recent REFIT Communication.
However,
we believe we need to go further if we are serious about a business-led
economic recovery and ensure that these commitments are now transformed into
action.
The recent report from a
The report also proposes a new set of principles to ensure that new EU legislation is pro-growth, and allows European businesses to COMPETE and grow within the global market.
We are now
calling on you, as EU leaders, to ensure that EU regulation is focused on
securing the competitiveness of European business, and to place the COMPETE
principles at the heart of EU policy-making.
And we urge you to demonstrate leadership by making a strong commitment at
this week’s European Council to identify where the burden of regulation can be
reduced to allow businesses to generate the growth that will benefit us all."
Signed
Ranjit
Singh
|
CEO
|
2
Sisters Food Group
|
Colin
Coombes
|
Sales
Manager
|
Abex Power Components
|
Abbey
|
Sales
Director
|
Advanced
Steel Services Ltd
|
Farah
Ramzan Golant
|
CEO
|
All3MediaGroup
|
Charles
Philipps
|
Group
Chief Executive
|
Amlin
Plc
|
Stephen
Leigh
|
Manager
|
Argus
Security Systems
|
Andy
Clarke
|
President
and CEO
|
Asda
Stores Ltd
|
Stephen Whitehead
|
Chief
Executive
|
Association
of the British Pharmaceutical Industry
|
Mike
Stannard
|
CEO
|
Bac2
Ltd
|
Rebecca
Hopkins
|
Director
|
Balance
Me Ltd
|
Clare
Hopkins
|
Director
|
Balance
Me Ltd
|
Director
|
Balance
Me Ltd
|
|
Steven
Stubbs
|
Sales
Manager
|
|
Peter
Ventress
|
CEO
|
Berensden
plc
|
Steve
Bates
|
Chief
Executive Officer
|
BioIndustry
Association (BIA)
|
John
Longworth
|
Director
General
|
British
Chambers of Commerce
|
Andreas
Meyer-Schwickerath
|
Director
and Member of the Board
|
British
|
Pawel
Siwecki
|
CEO
|
British
Polish
|
Helen Dickinson
|
Director
General
|
British
Retail Consortium
|
Sir
Michael Rake
|
Chairman
(President, CBI))
|
BT
|
Gavin
Patterson
|
CEO
|
BT
|
Bernard
Dale
|
Partner
|
Capital
Connection LLP
|
Martin Douglas
|
Managing
Director
|
Cargill
Provimi
|
John
Cridland
|
Director
General
|
CBI
|
Sir
Roger Carr
|
Chairman
|
Centrica
|
Richard
O'Connor
|
Co-founder
|
Chocolate
and Love Ltd
|
Cecilia
Leigh
|
Proprietor
|
CL
Resolutions
|
Lara
Morgan
|
Founder
|
Company
Shortcuts Ltd
|
Joep
van Beurden
|
CEO
|
CSR
Plc
|
Brandon
Bradkin
|
Partner
|
CVC
|
Mr
Jorma Eloranta,
MSc
Engineering, Vuorineuvos
|
Chairman
of the Board
|
Directors’
|
Sir
James Dyson
|
Founder
|
Dyson
Ltd
|
Tom
Enders
|
CEO
|
EADS
|
Cllr
C. W. Siddall
|
Managing
Director
|
Eastern Plastics Machinery Ltd
|
Terry
Scuoler
|
Chief
Executive
|
EEF
(The Manufacturers’ Organisation)
|
Gary
Hendler
|
President
and CEO
|
Eisai
Europe
|
Phil
Nicholls
|
Managing
Director
|
Emerge
IT
|
Rajeeb
Dey
|
CEO
|
Enternships
|
Erik Penser
|
CEO
|
Erik Penser Bank,
|
Alisdair
Gray
|
Director
of European Affairs
|
European
DIY Retail Association
|
Mike Cherry
|
National
Policy Chairman
|
Federation
of Small Businesses (FSB)
|
Luca
Cordero di Montezemolo
|
President/CEO
|
|
Dr
Risto E. J. Penttilä
|
CEO
|
|
Phil
Orford
|
Chief
Executive
|
Forum
of Private Business
|
John Shropshire
|
CEO
|
G’s Group
|
Duncan
Aldred
|
Chairman
and MD
|
GM
|
Charlotte
Knight
|
Founder
|
G'Nosh
Ltd
|
Debbie
Heald
|
Managing
Director
|
Heald
Limited
|
Alan
Shaw
|
Managing
Director
|
Hydom
|
Ian
Teece
|
Managing
Director
|
Hydraulics
& Transmissions Ltd
|
Helen
Ibbotson
|
Company
Director
|
Ibbotson
Transport Limited
|
David
Stokes
|
Chief
Executive
|
IBM
|
Chris
Yates
|
Finance
Director
|
Immunodiagnostic
Systems Plc
|
Simon
Walker
|
Director
General
|
|
Wayne
Edmunds
|
CEO
|
Invensys
plc
|
Dr
Mike Lynch
|
Founder
|
Invoke
Capital
|
Russell
Taylor
|
CEO
|
ITW
Group plc
|
Dr
Jane Griffiths
|
Company
Group Chairman – Europe, Middle East and
|
Janssen
– Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson
|
Stephen
Duckworth
|
Toolhire
Supervisor
|
Jewsons
Ltd
|
Graham
Lindley
|
Director
|
Lifting Engineers
|
Mr Joe Tanti
|
CEO
|
|
Mr Kevin J. Borg
|
Director General
|
|
Emma
Marcegaglia
|
CEO
|
Marcegaglia
spa,
|
MKB-Nederland
|
||
Brynne
Herbert
|
Founder
|
MoveGuides
Ltd
|
Richard
Hetherington
|
Director
|
Nationwide
Civils Ltd
|
Stephen
J Blackler
|
Owner
|
Nortech
Control Systems Ltd.
|
Holly
Tucker
|
CEO
& Co-founder
|
Notonthehighstreet.com
|
Sophie
Cornish
|
Director
& Co-founder
|
Notonthehighstreet.com
|
Tom
Hulme
|
Founder
& MD
|
OpenIDEO
|
Roy
Davis
|
CEO
|
Optos
PLC
|
Steve
Ingham
|
CEO
|
PageGroup
plc
|
Rekha
Mehr
|
Founder
|
Pistachio
Rose Ltd
|
Dr.
Henryka Bochniarz
|
President
|
Polish
Confederation Lewiatan
|
Andrzej
S Nartowski
|
President
and CEO
|
Polish
|
Tidjane
Thiam
|
Group
Chief Executive
|
Prudential
plc
|
Sarah
Dembitz
|
Founder
|
Saviour
Snacks Ltd
|
J
Robert Galloway
|
Chief
Executive
|
Scotbeef
Ltd
|
Jeff
Lynn
|
CEO
& Co-founder
|
Seedrs
Ltd
|
Nick
Giles
|
Co-founder
|
Seven
Hills
|
Steve
Daykin
|
CEO
|
Seven
Publishing Group
|
Guy
Rigby
|
Partner
- Head of Entrepreneurial Services
|
Smith
& Williamson LLP
|
Michael
Hayman
|
Co-founder
|
StartUp
Britain & Seven Hills
|
Maria
Rankka
|
CEO
|
|
Richard
Gourlay
|
MD
|
Sussex
Place Ventures Ltd
|
Janet
Coyle
|
MD
|
SVC2UK
Ltd
|
Mike
Mack
|
CEO
|
Syngenta
|
Dr
Karl Koehler
|
CEO
and MD
|
Tata
Steel
|
Lucy
Armstrong
|
CEO
|
The
Alchemists
|
Niamh
Barker
|
MD
|
The
Travelwrap Company
|
Julian
Braidwood
|
Managing
Director
|
Triveritas
|
Richard Green
|
CEO
|
Ubisense
|
Vanda
Hatton
|
Internal
Sales
|
VAN
LEEUWEN LTD
|
James Townshend
|
CEO
|
Velcourt Group plc
|
Vittorio Colao
|
Group Chief Executive Officer
|
Vodafone
|
VNO-NCW
|
||
Russell
Gould
|
MD
|
WDFC
UK Ltd
|
Robert
Duxbury
|
Technical
Director
|
Wedge
Group Galvanizing Ltd
|
Ann
Zitterkopf
|
Former
President
|
WeeWorld
|
CEO
|
Wm
Morrison Supermarkets Plc
|
|
Rowena
Ironside
|
Chair
|
Women
on Boards UK Ltd
|
