In a new report from the Confederation of Danish Industry (DI), alarm bells are ringing as more than three-quarters of the surveyed Danish companies report an increase in the number of administrative regulations. According to DI, this phenomenon places a heavy and unnecessary burden on the companies, hindering their ability to compete and innovate. “The administrative hassle has exploded. It seems as if no one has considered whether the extensive amounts of rules and laws could be made simpler for companies to comply with,” says Lars Sandahl Sørensen, CEO of DI. He points out that the complex legislation forces companies to spend valuable time on compliance rather than growth and development.
According to the report, this increasing burden of rules has led to more companies having to postpone or completely abandon planned projects. Sandahl urges both Danish politicians and the EU to “hit the pause button” to give especially small and medium-sized enterprises a chance to adapt. In an attempt to address this issue, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen (Venstre) announced on LinkedIn that Venstre aims to reduce the administrative burdens on businesses by 25 percent by 2030. “It should not only be an ambition but a concrete, binding goal for future governments,” he wrote.
Charlotte Bagge Hansen, business spokesperson for the Moderates (Moderaterne), agrees on the need to cut back on administrative regulations but does not want to set a specific percentage for the reduction. “The most important thing is the substance of the rules, not the exact number,” she says, but adds that she is open to discussing a concrete target. So far, it has not been possible to get a comment from Minister for Business Morten Bødskov (Socialdemokratiet, S).”