With or without the Euro: 60% of UK business leaders think the UK should renegotiate to reduce its involvement in the EU to free trade only
54% of UK business doubts benefit of single market
- Monday, 16 October 2006
A new ICM poll of 1,000 UK Chief Executives, commissioned by the British think tank Open Europe, finds that businesses feel that the European Union is moving in the wrong direction, and producing too much costly regulation. According to the poll 52% think the EU is “failing”; 54% think EU over-regulation “outweighs” the benefit of the Single Market.
The survey finds that businesses think the cost of implementing EU regulations now outweighs the benefit of the Single Market they are supposed to create. Even the businesses which do the most trade in other EU countries feel the same way. Michael Spencer, Chief Executive, ICAP plc and one of the leading figures in the London City said: “People in business are fed up with the volume of costly regulation the EU is producing. In the City people are becoming more and more sceptical about the value we are getting from it all.”
Despite the Commission’s pledge to reduce regulation, there is a very strong perception that the burden of regulation imposed by the EU is still increasing. Interestingly, this is not just a typical ‘small business grumbling’ – the perception of increasing regulation is strongest among the largest businesses. Overall, 59% think the burden of EU regulation is increasing, 35% think it is staying the same and just 4% think it is decreasing. However, among the largest businesses, (250+ employees) a stunning 70% think regulation is increasing, 27% staying the same and just 2% decreasing.
The most important steps to reform the EU are indicated
with the following statements and the percentage of agreement:
- 93% think it is a good idea to reduce the
amount of bureaucracy the EU produces - 89% think clear fixed limits on the powers
of the EU should be established - 84% want to give back member states like Britain
control over regional spending - 83% think that the national parliament should be given new
powers to scrutinise EU regulations before they are passed
and to stop Government ministers from signing up to them - 79% want to reduce the amount that the EU spends
on farm subsidies - 66% think EU's trade barriers against the rest of the world
should be reduced
Here you can find the Open Europe press release
Here you can download the poll as a pdf-file