The European Union must streamline its approach to business development if Scotland is to realise its full potential for economic success, according to John Purvis MEP. Delivering the Fife Chamber of Commerce 2004 Elgin Lecture tonight (Thursday 27th May), he also called on the Scottish Executive, local authorities and Scottish business to equip the enterprise sector to meet the challenges which the new enlarged Europe and the wider global environment now present.

In his keynote address, John Purvis raised a number of key issues for Scottish business.

On red tape:

"Europe is not seen as the best place to do business because of the excessive amount of regulation and red tape. The British Chambers of Commerce estimate that the total cumulative cost to business of regulations introduced by the Government since 1997 exceeds £20 billion and it is projected to exceed £30 billion by July 2004. The EU is often held at least partially responsible for this and has frequently been criticised for drafting legislation without taking into account the impact it will have on business.

"This is made worse by Whitehall's or the Scottish Executive's tendency to gold-plating, which only compounds the problem by making EU directives more detailed and prescriptive. I am often asked why "the others" or "the French" don't obey the rules like we do. The fact usually is that they have applied common sense to the transcription and the enforcement process.”

Needed from Europe

"The EU’s legislative focus must be to create a good regulatory environment with clear and simple rules. It must move away from devising new measures and target instead the implementation of existing ones. Red tape and bureaucratic barriers must be mercilessly resisted and dismantled where not absolutely necessary. Above all, enterprise, innovation and success must be permitted their full rewards - and even entrepreneurs who suffer honest failure should be respected and encouraged to try again by a more benevolent bankruptcy regime and positive public attitudes.

A well-educated workforce for Scotland:

"We cannot afford for our universities to fall behind world class standards in teaching and research. Indeed they must be enhanced and this means resources. If they are not to come from student top-up fees, then they have to be found from corporate, charitable or government support. There is a current threat of a levelling down process affecting our best Scottish universities and university departments. The increased cash generation which top English universities will have from top-up fees will greatly enhance their potential to lure away the best researchers and teachers in Scottish universities with higher salaries and better facilities. We must really put our minds to meeting this challenge.”

"For economic success, Scotland needs to attract more investment and persuade the high flying entrepreneurs and executives, the scientists, inventors and innovators who will build Scotland's wealth to want to live and stay here. We must make the working and investment environment more attractive. Positive attitudes to success, whether in words, in political actions or fiscal policies will determine the level of response. The culture of envy and deprecation of success must be buried for good.”

Scotland’s transport infrastructure

"Providing transport and communications infrastructure up to the best world standards is an essential prerequisite for a 21st century Scottish economy, just as it is for the rest of Europe. Government ministers continually exhort us to greater productivity and correctly bemoan our poor performance in the productivity stakes. And yet traffic snarl ups with half Scotland's economy stuck on the Forth Road Bridge or M6 is one of the major enemies of productivity. It also diminishes the ability to satisfy customers with just in time deliveries and keep costs down to the bone. And why are we still so behind in access to broadband?

"Only when we get on top of these serious problems, which undermine our best efforts to compete, can Scotland, along with Europe, hope to become the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world. Scottish business really needs to raise its voice and demand speedy solutions. This does not have to require extreme increases in public spending. Our very own financial services sector can surely mobilise in sophisticated ways the private sources of funding which are needed.”

Overview

"In 2004 we need a change of approach and must agree a series of actions for the EU institutions and Member State governments to drive through, if Europe is to be the global success story which we and our children badly need. It is equally incumbent on the Scottish Executive, on our Scottish local authorities and on our Scottish businesses also to ensure everything they do is focused on enabling Scotland to meet the challenges which the new enlarged Europe and the wider global environment now present.”

Note to News Editors

1. The full text of the Elgin Lecture 2004 by John Purvis MEP is available from the contacts below.

2. In 1999 John Purvis was returned to the European Parliament as one of two Tory MEPs. Having served as MEP for Mid Scotland and Fife from 1979 to 1984 he is one of Scotland’s most experienced European parliamentarians.

3. Since his re-election John has been appointed to two highly influential positions. He is Vice Chairman of the European Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee and is also a full member of the Committee on Industry, External Trade, Research and Energy.

For more information, contact:
Polly McPherson
Indigo
Tel: 0131 554 9150
Mob: 07810 891 831
E-mail: polly@indigopr.com