Keynote speech by Commissioner Dombrovskis at launch of the Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden

Vielen Dank, State Secretary. Let me begin with a reference to your favourite Austrian writer. Thomas Bernhard began his speech accepting the 1968 Austrian State Prize for Literature by declaring that there was 'nothing to praise, nothing to condemn, nothing to accuse.' I will begin mine with neither condemnation nor accusation, only praise. Because today we are here for something Bernhard rarely allowed his characters: to stop merely observing problems. And instead, begin fixing them.

It is a pleasure to join you all today to mark the launch of the exciting and much needed Alliance for the Reduction of Bureaucratic Burden. It is a timely initiative.

We all know that our rules play a crucial role in creating the conditions for a successful, thriving economy. The reality is that Europe's growth and productivity have been too low for too long. We are all now navigating a less forgiving, more fragmented world where the consequences of lower productivity and missed growth have been laid bare. So, we can no longer continue with business as usual. Or pretend that this problem does not exist.

Our citizens and businesses have made it clear that excessive, fragmented and overlapping rules are holding them back. There now exists a broad consensus that Europe needs a simpler, more coherent and less burdensome regulatory regime. That is why the European Commission has made cutting red tape a priority.

We are delivering a simplification agenda that is unprecedented in both scale and ambition. And have already tabled twelve major Omnibus proposals and other simplification initiatives across a broad range of policy areas. These proposals have the potential to save at least €17 billion in administrative costs yearly for European businesses and national administrations. Our businesses can then redirect those savings away from compliance and towards investment, innovation, and expansion, the activities that create high-quality jobs, make us more competitive, and more prosperous.