Quote of the Week: "Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but
the shape of the spoon." - E. M. Forster
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ESBA WEEKLY of Friday 03 August 2001 - VOL 3 - N° 34
Headlines of WEEK 31:
- EU / ENTREPRENEURSHIP: EU initiatives gathered on web
- TAXATION: Taxation on labour remains too high
- ENVIRONMENT: EC launched consultation on environmental liability
- NOTE to the reader: ESBA will resume publication on Friday 31 August
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EU / ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Brussels 30/07/2001: EU entrepreneurship initiatives gathered on web
The European Commission has launched a web site including all initiatives
and measures undertaken by Member States, the Commission, the Council, and
the European Parliament in relation to and as a follow-up of the Action
Plan to Promote Entrepreneurship and Competitiveness. The Action Plan was
the concrete outcome of the work undertaken by the Business Environment
Simplification Taskforce in 1997-1998 (BEST). The Action Plan is currently
also being implemented to a certain extend within the candidate countries.
The web site complements the first Implementation Report of the Action
Plan (October 2000), and should assist in further dissemination of the
overview.
The web site has been ordered according the priority areas as defined by
the Action Plan:
- Education for an entrepreneurial society, and training;
- Access to finance for SMEs, especially expanding and hi-tech firms;
- Access to research and innovation, and better use of patents by SMEs;
- Improve visibility of support services ;
- Improve public administration; and
- Improve employment and working conditions;
More info (copy/paste full link):
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/enterprise_policy/best-directory/inde
x.htm
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OECD / TAXATION
Brussels 01/07/2001: Taxation on labour remains too high
A recently published report by the OECD, indicated that the tax-to-GDP
ratio rose steadily in most EU countries up to the late 1990s and that, in
spite of recent tax cuts, the overall tax burden in the EU area remained
much higher than in most other economies, especially on labour. The report
suggests, amongst other measures, the need to further rebalance the tax
burden away from labour as to contribute better to EU's employment
performance.
More info (copy/paste full link):
http://www.olis.oecd.org/olis/2001doc.nsf/linkto/eco-wkp(2001)27
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EU / ENVIRONMENT
Brussels 02/08/2001: EC launched consultation on environmental liability
Further to the comments received on the White Paper on Environmental
Liability (issued in February 2000) the Commission has prepared a working
document open for public consultation. Based on this consultation and some
ongoing studies, the Commission will forward a legislative proposal in the
form of a Directive on environmental liability. All comments on the
working document should be sent by 15 September 2001.
More info:
http://www.europa.eu.int/comm/environment/liability/consultation.htm
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The ESBA Weekly is now sent to an increasing amount of persons with a
direct interest in SMEs.
This bulletin is made in co-operation with LOGOS
(http://www.logos-eu.com).
