Bulgarian MEP from the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Kristian Vigenin has achieved an important result as the European Parliament's rapporteur on part of the Omnibus IV legislative package, aimed at reducing the administrative burden for business and creating a more predictable economic environment in the European Union. The political groups reached agreement on the compromise proposals he proposed, which will allow the legislation to move forward more quickly.
„My work was aimed at expanding the reliefs that were previously only available to small and medium-sized enterprises, so that they would also apply to small mid-cap companies. These are over 40,000 companies that are the backbone of the industry in individual countries, but have so far remained outside the scope of the existing measures“, said Vigenin.
He stressed that for him, the priority in his work was to maintain support for the smallest enterprises. “The goal was to avoid the risk of reducing the real support for the smallest enterprises, for which these reliefs were originally created. That is why I insisted on a reasonable and proportionate scope of the measures and on applying the same criteria in all legislative texts. We cannot use one formula in one directive, and in another – a completely different one&rdash;, pointed out the MEP.
The report also includes changes to the legislation on the resilience of critical entities – infrastructures and services of key importance to society. “The aim is to make it easier for companies that run essential services such as electricity, transport, digital networks, water supply and healthcare, without weakening security and sustainability standards“, Vigenin stressed.
An agreement was also reached during the negotiations on the implementation of data protection rules. “We have reached an agreement on new rules related to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), so that the requirements are clear, transparent and consistent across the EU. The goal has been achieved - less bureaucracy for more European companies, but without compromising on the protection of our personal data“, he said.
Vigenin stressed that as rapporteur, his task was to ensure a real improvement in the legislation. "My task was to achieve real simplification, transparency in the process and clear rules that really work for business and jobs," he added.
The work on this legislation is part of the European Union's broader efforts to improve the economic environment, based on Mario Draghi's report on the future of European competitiveness. It identifies low investment, a fragmented market and complex regulations as challenges facing the European economy.
That is why the European Commission launched the "Omnibus" initiative, aimed at simplifying legislation and reducing administrative burdens, in order to create better conditions for growth, innovation and access to finance. So far, the EC has submitted six legislative packages, with the Bulgarian MEP actively working on three of them.
For contact with the Group of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats in the EP: https://www.socialistsanddemocrats.eu/
