Brussels, 14/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, announced on Friday 14 September the appointment of Edmund Stoiber as chair of the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens. Composed of 15 members representing a wide segment of society including small and large businesses and organisations, trade unions, NGOs and the world of academia and politics, the High Level Group (HLG) will begin its work in October with a mandate running three years. The HLG aims to assist the Commission in implementing the action plan to reduce the administrative burden on Union companies by 25% by 2012. Suggested in January by the Commission, this ambitious plan was validated by the European Council in March (EUROPE 9361, 9369 and 9383). “Mr Stoiber is a committed European and an outstanding personality of high repute and with more than 30 years of experience at political, legislative and administrative levels. He has personally been involved at the forefront of efforts to improve legislation in Bavaria, Germany and Europe. I am therefore delighted to count on his important contribution to what is a flagship project for the Commission”, Barroso commented in a press release. (eh)