Jim Murphy

Better regulation, more innovation

Prague has changed so much from when I came here as a tourist years ago. I saw an advertisement which reminded me just how much it has changed. It was a tourist poster for the Museum of Communism - and if that wasn't enough, the poster added helpfully that it was situated above the McDonald's restaurant!

The Czech Republic will hold the Presidency of the EU in the first half of next year. I was in Prague to discuss 'Better Regulation' with the Czech Deputy Prime Minister Vondra and representatives from Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Estonia.

In a nutshell, 'Better Regulation' is about the countries in the EU reducing unnecessary bureaucracy to encourage competitiveness and making sure any new EU legislation is justified. That might sound obvious. And in recent years we have made progress. But as always there's more to do, and the new economic challenges and opportunities presented by the rise of economies such as India and China make the need for action even greater. We need to make sure that our approach to regulation across the EU supports innovation and job creation and drives a green agenda.

So I was delighted that the representatives from all seven countries signed a commitment to work together on this.

As I said in my speech this afternoon, quoting a former Professor at Prague's famous Charles University, Albert Einstein, "Any fool can make things bigger and more complex. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction".

We've a long way to go. But the UK Government is determined to work with the Czechs and others to improve the EU's competitiveness.

Posted at 11:00 15 May 2008 by Jim Murphy  |  Comments[1]