§ Mr. BradyTo ask the Prime Minister if he will list the EU directives which he has identified as affecting business costs and which he is seeking to renegotiate. [69743]
§ The Prime MinisterThe Government are committed to working with the Commission and other Member States to ensure that EC legislation does not impose unwarranted burdens on business.
We are actively engaged in the SLIM initiative (Simpler Legislation for the Internal Market) which revisits specific EC rules to find ways of making them more effective and less burdensome on individuals and business. Under our Presidency of the EU, we secured agreement to reviews of EC legislation covering electromagnetic compatibility, insurance and social security. We are now participating in further reviews of dangerous substances, pre-packaging and company law legislation.
The Government are also working to ensure that the impact of new EC legislation is properly assessed. For example, our Presidency of the EU saw the launch of a pilot European Business Test Panel, which consults business on specific proposals at an early stage in the legislative process. We are also seeking early implementation of the Business Environment Simplification Taskforce recommendations to reduce the administrative burdens on small firms. And the commission has now made a commitment to improve its business impact assessment system, known as the fiche d'impact.