Business Starting Up

Setting up a new business should be getting easier
Setting up a business in a European country other than your own is a right for EU citizens. Based on article 43 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, the freedom of establishment principle allows entrepreneurs to set up a company in any EU country.

In addition, the Services Directive and Small Business Act mean that the EU is now making it easier, faster and cheaper to set up a new company thanks to points of single contact and one-stop-shops in every EU country.

In 2009, on average across all EU countries, starting up a private limited company required 8 days at a cost of € 417. This has come down from 9 days and € 463 in 2008, and is an improvement on the situation in 2007, which was 12 days and cost € 485.
Navigating to new business opportunities
EU countries have been obliged to set up ‘points of single contact', through which service providers can obtain all relevant information and deal with all administrative formalities without the need to contact several authorities.
The ‘points of single contact' have to be accessible at a distance and by electronic means. In the Small Business Act for Europe, national governments also committed to set up some form of ‘one-stop shops' for business start-ups. These should allow entrepreneurs to carry out all the required procedures (e.g. registration, tax, VAT and social security) via a single administrative contact point, either physical (an office), virtual (web), or both. In addition, EU countries are to reduce the time taken to register a new business to three days and reduce the fees for business start-ups.
Real progress achieved
By the end of 2009, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Portugal, Romania and Slovenia had all complied with the three objectives: one-stop-shop, time and cost.
Slovenia, for example, was already fully compliant on all three counts by the end of 2007 and entrepreneurs can now start up a company in Slovenia for free – the second country in the EU after Denmark to achieve this.
These changes have resulted in real benefits. The electronic one-stop-shop system ‘e-VEM' is able to register all forms of companies, and has resulted in savings of € 10.2 million a year for Slovenian SMEs. In 2005-2008, this led to registration of enterprises increasing by 36.7% per annum on average compared to the year before the introduction of the system.
To view information on the situation of Malta: http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/business/starting-business/setting-up/malta/index_en.htm
Should they encounter further problems; users can also find contact details and links for support services such as SOLVIT and the Enterprise Europe Network. The combination of simplified administrative procedures and easy-to-access online guides to navigating them should be a potent one for European SMEs and EU growth in future.