At the plenary session on Wednesday 22 November, MEPs spent almost an hour debating the obstacles to European competitiveness, and in particular how to reduce the administrative burden on businesses.
Cutting Europe’s red tape has been a hot topic for several months now, following Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s declaration in her State of the Union address that she wants to reduce the reporting requirements imposed on companies by EU law by 25% (see EUROPE 13248/21).
During the debate, MEPs generally acknowledged the heavy burden under which “companies are buried”, in the words of Michiel Hoogeveen (ECR, Dutch). “Bureaucracy is suffocating our businesses. We’ve been talking about it for years, but we need to do something today”, said Morten Løkkegaard (Renew Europe, Danish). For the Liberals and right-wing MEPs, the regulations linked in particular to the Green Deal texts are posing more and more problems and making Europe incapable of competing with China and the United States.
On the left, there is a more moderate view, even though the MEPs recognise the advantages of reducing this administrative burden. “Demand for European products is rising all over the world. Our businesses need to be flexible and innovative if we are to succeed. But we must be responsible and not seek to deregulate our economy”, said Henrike Hahn (Greens/EFA, German).
At the beginning of September, the Commission presented a support package for SMEs, including a reduction in administrative burdens. The European Parliament welcomed the news at the time, although several MEPs were critical of its late arrival (see EUROPE 13250/18). (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)