European Council meeting (8-9 March 2007)

Speech by Liz Lynne on Wed 14th Mar 2007

Mr President, I am delighted the Council agreed that the administrative burden arising from EU legislation should be reduced by 25% by 2012, as another speaker mentioned.

I also welcome the fact that the Council has called for a group of independent experts to advise on better regulation. This is vital. However, I would like to go even further and have independent impact assessments as a matter of course for all legislation.

In the employment field, legislation should be brought forward at EU level only if it cannot be done successfully at local or national level. An average small business owner already spends roughly 28 hours per month filling in forms as a result of legislation. Health and safety legislation should be brought forward only if medical and scientific evidence demonstrates the need for it, as is the case for an amendment to Directive 2000/54/EC on biological agents, to protect health workers from needlestick injuries.