1. Danish Commerce & Service Needs of enterprises CEO Søren B. Henriksen Danish Commerce & Service Vice-president EuroCommerce

2. Danish Commerce & Service Problems  Public outsourcing  Language  Merit and skill recognition  These problems results in:  We lack competition and innovation.  We are unable to get the right skills where they are needed

3. Danish Commerce & Service National transparency?  The Danish companies are complaining about the many administrative burdens as a result of the vast legislation. The cost is 2,5% of the gross value added.  We need both a more simple legislation and a more transparent and easy access to information from the public sector.

4. Danish Commerce & Service Transparency in the Union?  When a company establish itself in another member state, it is facing a whole new range of difficulties.  The legislation in the member states is not transparent and it creates obstacles:  The free movement of physical products, business service and knowledge based products.  The free movement of labour.

5. Danish Commerce & Service Example 1: Physical products  Different demands on environmental information and allowed substances  Different rules on marketing and commercials

6. Danish Commerce & Service Example 2: Recognition of skills  Skills are not recognised between the member states, which is a problem  Ex.: A chain of opticians, set up a number of shops in another member state, but was forced to close down after a short while, because the skills and education wasn’t recognised.

7. Danish Commerce & Service Example 3: Moving employees around in the Union  If a company wants to send employees around Europe to local branches, it’s facing a number of problems:  Where do the employee pay taxes?  Which labour market regulation should be used?  Labour market regulation and social legislation are not harmonised, and it is very difficult to create an overview.

8. Danish Commerce & Service Three simple questions  Can I take my pension with me to f.ex. France?  Will it be taxed?  If I’m French shall I pay 60% in taxes if I work in Denmark?

9. Danish Commerce & Service Solution in the member states  Every member state shall create an Internet service, where the companies can find information on the different kinds of national legislation.  The e-government portal should be a “one stop shopping” - state, county and municipal administration.

10. Danish Commerce & Service Solution in EU  A solution could be, that IDA creates a portal on the Internet where the companies can easily find and compare the national legislation.  This service shall connect the national portals.  This portal could also prove itself to be a very powerful tool for the Commission, in the future work at creating a genuine common market for business service and knowledge based products.