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EU firms to avoid ‘cliff-edge’ on compliance

The European Commission has put forward a new package of measures aimed at cutting the costs of complying with EU rules for smaller businesses.

The commission says that the latest proposals will save companies around €400 million a year in administrative costs.

One of the main measures is the creation of a new category of ‘small mid-caps’ – companies with fewer than 750 employees; and either up to €150 million in turnover or up to €129 million in total assets.

The commission says that, under current rules, firms that grow beyond 250 workers become large enterprises, and face a ‘cliff-edge’ in compliance obligations that can affect their competitiveness.

It estimates that small mid-caps – around 38,000 firms – will gain certain benefits, such as specific derogations under GDPR, or simplified rules, such as prospectus rules  that will make a listing on the stock market  simpler and less costly.

F-gas registration

Under another measure, around 10,000 companies will no longer need to register in the EU F-gas Portal under proposed changes.

Currently, all importers and exporters of products containing fluorinated gas (F-gases) must register.

The commission says that the proposed changes will reduce the compliance burden on firms such as small car dealers importing or exporting a few second-hand cars with an F-gas in the air-conditioning system.

Data records

Obligations to keep records for GDPR purposes have also been eased for companies with fewer than 750 employees, who will be required to maintain records only when the processing of personal data is ‘high risk’ under the GDPR.

Other proposals include accelerating the process of eliminating paper-based requirements in product legislation and a plan to push back the deadline for battery companies to comply with due-diligence rules.

The proposals announced yesterday (21 May) represent the fourth so-called ’omnibus’ package of measures aimed reducing red tape for businesses.