Gold Magazine November - December 2013, Issue 32 | Page 87

WHEN INNOVATION IS SO IMPORTANT FOR FUTURE BUSINESSES, IT IS SELF-DEFEATING
THAT NEW EU REGULATIONS HAVE ACCOMPANIED A 25% DROP IN BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
• A successful transatlantic trade deal could,
in the long-term, boost the EU economy by
some €120 billion annually;
• Whilst removing the requirement to write
down health and safety risk assessments could
save businesses across the EU some €2.7 billion.
In particular, the Services Directive – which
aims to remove outstanding barriers to free
trade in services in the EU – has failed to realise its full potential, due to poor and uneven
implementation across the EU. Addressing
this must be a key priority, given that the services sector is a key driver of competitiveness,
growth and jobs.
And further liberalisation of telecoms,
transport, construction, and legal services, is of
crucial importance in creating the right environment for competitive European businesses
to prosper.
But it isn’t enough just to remove existing
rules: Europe must avoid adding new ones.
And when new rules are necessary they must
be unashamedly pro-growth. Some of us run
large corporations, others manage smaller
business. Yet we all believe this.
We have therefore developed principles
that we think should be applied to any new
regulations or legislation. They should function as a first common-sense filter through
which any new EU proposals must pass. We
have called these the COMPETE principles
– because if they are used they will make Europe more competitive.
Many reports have been written about removing European rules, including by
European governments and the European
Commission. This isn’t the first such report
and it won’t be the last. Indeed, European
Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso
has just published a review of regulation,
committing the EU to screen two-thirds of all
European rules for their commercial fitness –
a welcome move.
Yet for all the reports, change is still needed.
We therefore call on the British and European
governments, on the European Commission
and the European Parliament to implement
our findings. For while this report is written
by businesspeople and for the British government, its recommendations, if implemented,
will benefit all of Europe, helping firms start,
employ staff, grow, expand, innovate and
export.

Executive Summary

T

his report is drawn
from evidence we
received from some
90 UK businesses and
business organisations, and over 20 business organisations across Europe. It sets out a
range of proposals to ensure that
the EU single market makes it easy
for businesses in Europe to trade
across borders, and to ensure that
the EU regulatory framework is,
and remains, competitive in the
global market place.
We call on the European Commission to adopt a new ‘common
sense filter’ for all new proposals –
the COMPETE Principles. No new
EU legislation should be brought
forward which does not successfully pass through this filter.
Competitiveness test
One-in, One-out
Measure impacts
Proportionate rules
Exemptions and lighter regimes
Target for burden reduction
Evaluate and Enforce
As well as these overarching principles, we also looked at specific
pieces of existing EU legislation,
and proposals in the p