The European Commission has proposed new measures to save EU companies a further €400 million in annual administrative costs. With a new category of companies – so-called small-mid caps – the measures will ease compliance obligations and free up resources for growth and investment.
When small and medium enterprises (SMEs) grow beyond 250 employees, they become large enterprises and face a sharp increase in compliance obligations. This can discourage growth and limit competitiveness. Small-mid caps are companies with fewer than 750 employees and either up to €150 million in turnover or up to €129 million in total assets. Nearly 38 000 companies in the EU that fall into this category will gain access to certain SME benefits or simplified rules.
Other key measures include
- exempting around 10 000 companies, in 2026 alone, from fluorinated greenhouse gas registration
- simplified record-keeping obligations in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
- eliminating paper-based declarations of conformity, instructions for use and others, thus accelerating the digital transition
- easier ways to demonstrate that products meet EU requirements, even when EU-wide hamornised standards are not available
- smoother phase-in of due diligence obligations for battery industry.
The Commission is working to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and create a regulatory environment that drives innovation, growth, quality jobs and investment. By 2029, it aims to streamline rules and reduce the administrative burdens for businesses by 25%, and for SMEs by 35%. This proposal is called the fourth Simplification Omnibus package. The next is planned for June 2025 and will focus on defence.
For more information
Q&A: Simplification Omnibus IV
Previous simplification packages: first, second and third packages
