Enterprise and Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen announced the launch of the new website, on 21 September, as part of an overall package of measures aimed at slashing the administrative burden placed on businesses by 25% by 2012 – a move that he claims could give a €150 billion boost to the European economy by 2012.
"We need to consult and learn from those who face EU legislation in their daily work as they are best placed to highlight those administrative obligations which are the most time-consuming and which could be simplified. We can only reach our ambitious objective of cutting administrative costs by 25% by 2012 if we rely on the help and advice of businesses, stakeholders and member states," Verheugen explained.
He also announced the outsourcing of a €20 million programme for measuring the savings that could be made by removing bureaucratic obligations arising from European legislation and its implementation at national level to a consortium of consultancies, including Cap Gemini, Deloitte and Ramboll Management.
The 18-month project will aim to develop specific solutions for each member state as well as on a European scale.
It follows the creation of a new high-level group on the administrative burden, which will be chaired by the current leader of Bavaria Edmund Stoiber and comprises representatives of small and large business organisations, trade unions, and NGOs as well as world academia and politics.
The strategy is a key pillar of the EU's Lisbon Agenda for Growth and Jobs, which aims to improve the bloc's competitiveness.
