That is, if entrepreneurs have not given up starting a business in the meantime, as it takes on average 27 days to set up a new business in the euro area, compared to just 5 in the US 8 . I always had respect for entrepreneurs, but it’s getting larger in view of the red tape they have to cut through.
Some reforms have recently been undertaken, both at the national and the European level. For example, personal tax wedges have been reduced and employment protection legislation has been relaxed in some European countries. And I fully support the current EU Commission initiative for measuring the cost of existing legislation and reducing the administrative burden on companies with 25 percent by 2012.