EU 'has to slash business rules'

The Dutch and the Danes are getting to grips with bureaucracy

The Dutch and Danish governments have issued a forceful plea for the European Union to adopt an aggressive policy on cutting red tape.

The Dutch finance and Danish business ministers say they are alarmed by the slow pace of EU bureaucratic reform.

Both nations have embarked on schemes to simplify their business legislation.

The EU's executive arm, the Commission, planned to simplify more than 50 laws this year, but in the year so far has tackled only five.

In a letter published in the Financial Times, the ministers point out that the Dutch and Danish governments plan to reduce administrative burdens on business in their countries by 25% between 2007 and 2010.

It suggests that "this systematic approach could also work in Brussels."