1 trillion Euros EU regulatory burden on business
In a new study Counting the Cost of EU Regulation, Tim Ambler, Senior Fellow at London Business School, estimates the regulatory costs of EU legislation on businesses of all sizes and sectors between 1998 and 2008 at over 1 trillion Euros. This is in addition to the costs of regulation by member states.
The study published by EUROCHAMBRES reveals both the alarming scale of the EU regulatory burden on business and dramatic ongoing shortfalls in the measurement of these costs at both EU and member state levels. Few member states publish regulatory impact assessments.Commenting on the findings, Tim Ambler said: "Such an immense figure represents a significant proportion of EU GDP and should alert people to the importance of challenging regulation that unnecessarily burdens EU businesses, reduces their competitiveness and ultimately reduces the standard of living for EU citizens."
Concluding, Mr Ambler reiterated a key message from the Chambers network since the beginning of the economic downturn: "We cannot allow the crisis to be interpreted as a reason for increased regulation of the real economy. The crisis was not created by inadequate regulation but by the incompetence of regulators."
The study, commissioned by EUROCHAMBRES was carried out by Francis Chittenden from Manchester Business School and Tim Ambler from London Business School,
The full study ‘Counting the Cost of EU Regulation to Business' can be downloaded from the Eurochambres website