Minister: EU legislative burden a concern for Estonia

The volume of European Union legislation has become increasingly intense and puts a concerning burden on Estonia's public sector and that of other member states, particularly smaller ones, Minister of Justice Kalle Laanet (Reform) says.
"This puts those EU member states, like Estonia, whose public service sector is thin and not comparable to those of many other member states, in a difficult situation," the minister said.
A full 80 percent of his own ministry's work is tied to EU legislation as things stand, Laanet went on.
Excessive regulation already limits smart solutions and exerts a burdensome effect on business, the minister went on. "This concern has also been expressed by Estonian entrepreneurs themselves. They say the EU needs clearer rules and more effective competition, along with a lower administrative burden," Laanet continued, via a ministry press release.
"The detailed regulation of each area will not help achieve these goals. As a consequence, I think that we should focus together on easing that bureaucracy which unnecessarily burdens business and increases the administrative burden," Laanet added.
The justice minister said he had found agreement on this from his Finnish counterpart, Leena Meri.
The pair met in Helsinki Tuesday this week, and said they found that the two neighboring countries could harmonize their positions against rising EU bureaucracy.
Minister Meri (pictured) said Finland is likely to find itself in situations where the EU requires the harmonization of regulations acroiss the union and in areas where there are currently no domestic issues.
The matter has even been raised by larger countries.
Last week, Germany's justice minister, Marco Buschmann, also said efforts must be made to reduce the excessive administrative burden emanating from EU law, adding it is reasonable for large and small EU member states alike to cooperate in identifying problems and coming up with solutions.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte