EU launches simplification program to keep up with US and China - von der Leyen
Kyiv • UNN
The European Commission plans to cut administrative costs for companies by 25% and for small businesses by 35%. The plan is aimed at stimulating innovation and increasing competitiveness with China and the United States.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced plans to cut red tape and stimulate innovation during her second term. This was reported by The Guardian, according to UNN.
Details
According to the newspaper, the EU executive announced “unprecedented simplification efforts” aimed at cutting regulations and stimulating innovation in an attempt to reverse Europe's economic decline and better compete with China and the United States.
The plans, published in a document titled Competitiveness Compass, are a response to a scathing report by former Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, who warned that the EU risks a “slow and painful decline” without urgent action
It is noted that the document reaffirmed the EU's goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, but, as Ursula von der Leyen stated, the EU sometimes set “complex and partially contradictory” requirements for companies.
According to the head of the European Commission, the simplification agenda is in line with the goals of the EU's Green Deal, “because we need to accelerate. The more complex the legislation, the slower the achievement of climate goals.
She also emphasized that European businesses have sent a “very clear signal” that they are facing great difficulties and that administrative procedures are too “cumbersome.
Von der Leyen promised an “unprecedented simplification effort” that she said would reduce administrative costs for companies by 25% and by 35% for small and medium-sized enterprises - provided the commission's proposals are adopted and followed.
Next month, the Commission will unveil a “wide-ranging simplification” covering the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, which came into force in 2023, and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, which will affect companies in a gradual schedule from 2027 to 2029
Recall
In record time, Europe has reduced imports of Russian gas by 75%, oil by 3%, and coal by zero. In February, the EU plans to present a plan for the development of clean energy, including to reduce prices.
