What EU 'Red Tape'?

[KenDodd]

www.ft.com/content/4b0d8310-4353-11ea-abea-0c7a29cd66fe?fbclid=IwAR1xxTsclXDC16rGWIVRGrZK15gffxM7-CmSEod22vN_XsLSx5hNs2KM4jE

So, the chancellor in his wisdom has asked the public to tell him what EU 'red tape' we want to get rid of (while at the same time massively increasing 'red tape' for us all). Am I right in thinking that this so called red tape is -
Workers rights
Environmental protection
H & S
Food standards
Etc.

Would I be unrecognisable to encourage you all to write to him and tell him exactly what 'red tape' we absolutely must KEEP. I bet plenty of interested parties will be writing to him demanding we get rid of as much of the above as possible so they can exploit staff (even more than they do) sell us unsafe shit and pollute the planet without a care.

I'll be writing. Anyone else have any ideas? Equally interested to hear from people who do want to get rid of 'red tape'

If he dumps data protection laws we have zero chance of a trade deal with EU

There is one piece of EU red tape that never worked as planned
but is irrelevant because of Brexit
BUT
as a ReJoiner
the posted worker scheme needs utter and complete reform from top to bottom, starting from abolition and building back up from zilch

the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) should be forced to use the numbers suggested by the scientists

and the CAP should be forced to accept non pesticide related GM crops as they are essential to sustainability

in terms of post Brexit red tape
stripping the RPA back to the EU rules would be a start

as would taking the abbatoir riles back to the EU ones - as that would allow local organic food production

the CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) should be forced to use the numbers suggested by the scientists

Completely agree. And 'no fishing' zones. I have a friend who's a marine biologist and says the fisherman's real issue isn't even with the EU, it's with the scientists.

as would taking the abbatoir riles back to the EU ones - as that would allow local organic food production

I was just thinking about this the other day - that is exactly the thing they might do, dressed up with 'Now we are out of the EU' , not 'We realise our Westminster embellishments to EU rules were damaging....'

I hope someone keeps the thread going, and updates us when Javid has identified the 'red tape' to be cut? I'm thinking of comprehensive list with plain English summaries.

Apparently Heseltine tried this, and the whole initiative was a flop, because no one could agree which pieces of red tape they wanted scrapping.

The problem is that as a major player with a lot of power, the UK wrote most of the regulations that now apply, and negotiated in some cases much steeper regulatory burdens than the rest of the EU was minded to. The UK is very proud of its attitude to robust regulation and rule of law.

I heard an international lawyer say once that in other countries people assume not everything is regulated. In the UK people assume there is a law for everything and are more shocked by stuff that's unregulated!

We do tend to heavily goldplate EU law and have often pushed for it to be stricter to keep the EU27 up to our standards. I think a lot of the more hated red tape will quite probably turn out to have been a UK innovation.

I heard an international lawyer say once that in other countries people assume not everything is regulated. In the UK people assume there is a law for everything and are more shocked by stuff that's unregulated

That's interesting, I've only ever heard it the other way round. Stuff in the UK is allowed until it isn't, in other countries it's only allowed if it's allowed.

It's true that the UK goldplated a lot of EU legislation and then complained about it...

The red tape challenge the Coalition government carried out did achieve a few things but probably cost as much to carry out as it saved on regulatory costs.

I did write in about tax disks because I thought being fined for not displaying one when you'd actually paid for it was over the top. They did get rid of them too.

I'd like to see the money laundering regulations pared back and operated on a risk basis rather than a tick box basis.

I think in the UK for individuals the approach is assume you can do something unless specifically you can't which is the other way around to other countries

But for companies businesses etc it's the reverse.

They did this before in 2015, red tape banning initiative. Nothing came of it.

Unfortunately most ‘red tape’ is fairly essential. Without government set standards for stuff companies have to agree the standards between themselves every time they make an agreement which makes things much more complicated.

I suppose if you believe the government ‘got Brexit done’ then you might also believe that they will scrap regulations based on the opinions of random members of the public.

Why is the tape always red?

@Sinuhe

What's the biscuit for?

Jason
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_tape

LQ thanks

I suppose if you believe the government ‘got Brexit done’ then you might also believe that they will scrap regulations based on the opinions of random members of the public.

Yes, what a stupid idea - probably copied from the European Commission;

"Lighten the Load" - "Suggest how to improve laws and reduce regulatory burden."

Anonymous from Greece posted a suggestion a few days ago.

ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/lighten-load_en

They did this before in 2015, red tape banning initiative.Nothing came of it.

"The REFIT Platform was set up to advise the Commission on how to make EU regulation more efficient and effective while reducing burden."

"The mandate of the REFIT Platform ended 31st October 2019. A new high-level group - Fit for Future Platform - is planned for the near future."

ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-making-process/evaluating-and-improving-existing-laws/refit-making-eu-law-simpler-and-less-costly/refit-platform_en

Nov 2015 "UK and 18 other EU countries call for business red tape reduction."

"Member states, including Germany and France, call for new target to reduce burdens on business, ‘unleashing potential of all businesses’."

www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-and-18-other-eu-countries-call-for-business-red-tape-reduction

We do tend to heavily gold plate EU law
Sometimes we do.

@Sinuhe

Still don't know what the biscuits are for. Anyone else know?

I went googling. Specific examples I could find...

From the Commentator

Health and Safety Framework Directive... forces small businesses to keep written health and safety risk assessments, even if they are working in a low-risk sector. These legal requirements cost time and money, and it should be up to the UK Government to decide whether small, low-risk businesses need to have written risk assessments.

So not saying NO REGULATION; but optional regulation.

Waste Framework Directive which involves rules on the disposal of business waste. It requires all businesses to register as waste carriers even if the waste being transported is considered low-risk... Removing such requirements for those who only transport a small amount of low-risk waste, could benefit tens of thousands of small businesses.

I wonder what the advantage of registering as a waste carrier is; does it reduce flytipping?

country of origin labelling (meat)... requires companies to include the definition of origin on the country of slaughter as well as the country of rearing despite there being little evidence to suggest consumers want information on where farm animals were slaughtered.

Just out of curiousity, if anyone works in a small business, say a bakery selling meat pasties, do you keep records where the meat was reared or slaughtered? I bet you don't. In the wake of the horsemeat scandal, ditching supply chain records does seem a bit, er, undesirable to me, but what do I know.

Oh, this is amusing. Memo on EU Commission website from 2013 -

"Examples of how EU law is becoming lighter, simpler and cheaper."

The so-called mythical curvy cucumber/bendy bananas saga - the EU are claiming this as a success story for reducing red tape:

"Below a number of concrete examples from various policy areas."
"Examples of administrative burden reduction measures adopted:"

1."Return of the curvy cucumber"/fruit and vegetable marketing standards:The completion of the Single market led to the adoption of marketing standards for fruits and vegetables, partly based on standards already existing at national level.The aim was to facilitate trade on the base of fair competition, help producers to meet consumer expectations and keep unsatisfactory products off the market.Specific rules were adopted over the years and by 1996 a total of 36 fruit and vegetables were regulated by specific marketing standards.These however were criticized for being unnecessarily complex and leading to food waste, with "ugly" fruits and vegetables with non-conventional shapes and sizes being excluded from the market.This led the Commission to review and simplify the rules and rationalize checking operations. Labels will indicate origin, but no longer class, size or variety. As a result of the simplification efforts undertaken in 2008, specific marketing standards have been brought down to a set of 10 specific rules in force today (and as from 1 July 2009).The specific standard for cucumbers, for example, was withdrawn. As a result the famous "curvy cucumbers", formerly banned, can now be legally put on the market.This measure can save up to €970 million annually."

ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/MEMO_13_833

Why waste carriers are asked to register:

We all know the damaging effects that waste can have on both the environment and human health if it’s not properly managed or disposed of, and the current regulations are in place to further protect the environment and discourage fly-tipping.

More red tape described, about the chain of waste disposal...

The University is required to keep copies of all WTN’s and Consignment Notes for two and three years respectively and must be able to produce them on demand to our environmental regulator or local council. As a result departments are required to scan in any documentation received and email this...

Sounds onerous for sure... so which companies should be exempted, what is the right threshold to choose and what mechanisms will still exist to make sure exempt small companies don't fly tip?

When red tape meets austerity ....
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hampshire-48333243
That was an extreme case, but making it easy for people to do the right thing saves money in the long term

So Clav, the EU recogbised something was an issue and did something about it over 10 years ago?

Oh wow your c and p was really worth the read.

again.

not

Oh wow your c and p was really worth the read

Indeed it was - the next time someone posts that 'curvy cucumbers' or 'bendy bananas' were not banned - it was all a myth or a 'Boris Johnson lie' - you know where to look - the EU Commission website;

"As a result the famous "curvy cucumbers", formerly banned, can now be legally put on the market."

No one banned curvey cucumbers. They just couldn't be classed as class A, same with bendy bananas.

No one banned them or said they couldn't be bought, so yes it was all bollocks

So no, yet again your reams of c and p wasn't worth it, and yet again you didn't really understand what it said.