PRAGUE – While business associations are mandatory comment bodies on Czech legislation, they have no opportunity to express comments or opinions to Czech authorities during negotiations on European legislation. This was stated by Tomáš Prowza, President of the Trade and Tourism Federation of the Czech Republic, at today’s International Affairs Association conference, highlighting the excessive bureaucratic burden created when adopting European regulations.
According to him, the reluctance of government officials to discuss national positions is completely inconsistent with the practice of most EU member states. “With a few rare exceptions, Czech politicians are not interested in Europe. During negotiations on European legislation, Czech officials are not interested in opinions and information from Czech companies, which significantly weakens the Czech negotiating ability,” Prusa said, among other things. He said the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Czech Republic (HK) had internally compiled 441 obligations that could be abolished and sent them to ministries. “In four years, less than a quarter of them were forced to vote, but only against brutal resistance from the authorities,” he pointed out.
According to Jan Falski, Member of the European Parliament (STAN), so-called gilding refers to situations in which a country changes European rules by adding its own additional obligations, prohibitions and bureaucracy that the EU does not require at all. “Gold-plating is a problem for entrepreneurs, for our citizens, and for our relationship with the EU. It distorts relations in that many of the regulations we devised domestically claim to have been ordered by Europe, and we blame Europe,” Falski told ČTK. Falski cited the association’s research and said most EU countries have already taken steps to curb gold plating.
Prusa believes that debureaucracy must start from the top of the country, with instructions from the prime minister to ministers, who must have the courage to work with officials to push for reform and system-wide relaxation. But, he says, most pastors haven’t found this courage in the past. Mr. Proza, as well as other participants in today’s panel discussion, believe that the Czech authorities want to co-opt Brussels and stubbornly replace European regulations with Czech systems more than necessary. “For Czech officials, praise from their colleagues in Brussels is more important than setting sensible rules that favor Czech business,” Prusa added. (December 5th)
