Calls to reduce red tape have intensified across the EU as businesses, workers and independent professionals warn that rising administrative demands are absorbing resources needed for wages, investment and competitiveness.
When it comes to the pace, approach and scope of the Commission’s efforts, Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis has defended the simplification drive, acknowledging the “need to continue with at least the same pace”.
At the same time, debate is sharpening following fresh scrutiny from the European Ombudsman over procedural shortcuts in recent lawmaking, including incomplete impact assessments and truncated consultations.
Administrative overload
Marcin Nowacki, vice president at ZPP, the union representing entrepreneurs and employers, describes a situation where administrative duties have expanded far beyond what firms can realistically absorb, becoming a structural burden.
“Across Europe, we see firms building entire internal reporting teams simply to manage compliance duties. The teams sometimes reach dozens of employees,” he tells Euractiv.
The costs shape the daily life of companies and directly affect workers, who “understand very well that resources spent on paperwork are resources not spent on better wages, training, technological upgrades, or safer working conditions.”
The strain is especially acute for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), increasingly facing indirect reporting duties “even when they are technically out of scope”, which “automatically creates pressure on everyone”.
Freelancers’ woes
Independent workers face their own version of the same problem, often with far less visibility or political attention.
The system leaves not only startups but also freelancers unrepresented, even though they form a growing and essential part of Europe’s labour market, according to Glen Hodgson, founder and CEO of Free Trade Europa.
“Because freelancers are not being consulted with regard to legislation affecting them, they are being treated as second-class citizens,” he tells Euractiv, warning that some interpretations of the EU Platform Work Directive could undermine the flexibility many rely on.
“Freelancers should not be forced into 9 to 5 employment contracts against their will. They should have the right to earn money when, where and how they want,” Hodgson argues.
Excessive bureaucracy, combined with weak enforcement against late payments, “still suck up too much time from independent workers, entrepreneurs and one-person companies,” limiting their competitiveness and resilience.
Potential convergence
Despite these frustrations, employers’ associations and trade unions increasingly identify shared priorities. Sandra Parthie, president of the EESC Employers’ Group, says both sides want rules that achieve their objectives without needless duplication or administrative confusion.
“There are many examples where regulation creates duplication of reporting and where bureaucracy just costs taxpayers’ money without achieving anything tangible for citizens, companies or workers,” Parthie tells Euractiv.
She sees genuine scope for joint action around digitalisation, clearer procedures and easier cross-border interactions, arguing that smarter systems can reduce burdens for employers and employees alike.
Parthie also notes that employers and unions frequently agree on enforcement: “Often, they are aligned in the call for coherent enforcement of existing rules […] ensuring that all market participants, including those from third countries, comply with our rules.”
Modest ambitions
Yet alignment on the problem does not mean the current EU agenda is sufficient.
Nowacki says the Commission’s ambition remains too limited given Europe’s economic pressures. High energy prices, low productivity growth and falling investment magnify the weight of administrative obligations, making small improvements inadequate.
“A simplification initiative that focuses on symbolic adjustments or minor technical changes will not be enough,” he warns.
Hodgson reaches a similar conclusion from the viewpoint of self-employed professionals. Efforts to digitalise procedures or simplify tax rules have not eased the burden, and enforcement gaps continue to undermine confidence in the system.
Sustained priority
For Parthie, lasting progress depends on embedding simplification into policymaking rather than treating it as an occasional exercise.
She argues that regulatory burden reduction must become a core discipline across all stages of lawmaking, supported by competitiveness checks and stronger stress-testing of proposals before obligations accumulate.
Clearer terminology and more coherent definitions would help prevent compliance difficulties. She says consultation processes must give employers, workers and civil society meaningful opportunities to influence legislation early.
Public administrations themselves, she adds, need modern, interoperable systems and adequate resources so simplified rules can be implemented effectively. Long-term improvement depends on continuous cooperation among employers, trade unions and governments to monitor and refine regulatory frameworks.
Balancing competitiveness and regulation
Across all stakeholders, the message is consistent: simplification is not about weakening standards, but designing regulation that works – proportionate, coherent and grounded in real operational capacity.
The Commission’s pledge to cut red tape has opened a political window, but only a credible, transparent and inclusive approach will translate this into lasting gains for Europe’s economy and labour market.
“A Europe that wants to remain competitive cannot afford to treat reporting as an end in itself. Instead of depleting the resources needed to accomplish it, it must guarantee that reporting contributes to the actual economic revolution,” Nowacki added.
(BM)