When President Basescu and David Cameron met in Downing Street on 6 June they agreed to work together to promote new growth in the European economy, including by reducing the regulatory burden on business. We took the first steps to implement this agenda at the European Council yesterday. Romania and the UK worked together to secure new commitments by the EU to reduce unnecessary EU bureaucracy and cut the costs of doing business in the Common Market, especially for the smallest firms. Indeed for micro-enterprises – those that have fewer than twenty employees – the EU will look to see if they can be excluded from some regulations altogether.
Why does this matter? Because both the Romanian and British economies are suffering from low levels of economic growth. New growth will come from new businesses – but the costs of starting a new business in the EU are far too high. It costs €644 to open a new business in the US, and just €158 in Canada. In the emerging markets of India and Brazil the costs are €641 and €593 respectively. But opening a business in the EU costs an enormous €2,285. No wonder we are lagging behind the rest of the world in economic growth.
Romania and Britain’s joint actions yesterday in Brussels will help to ease the burden on new businesses by reducing those regulations imposed by the EU to as few as possible, and by making special exemptions for the smallest businesses – which are the ones with the biggest impact on new economic growth.