Taking businesses past national borders means going into new territories where one increases the number of possible customers and business ventures. But sets of rules, laws, and regulations found at this level increase as well. For example, the European Union has its own sets of rules directing businessmen doing business in this region. These rules are aimed at boosting investor assurance, strengthening shareholder rights, reinforcing protection for businessmen, enhancing the effectiveness, efficiency and competitiveness of businesses, together with the enhancement of corporate ability within the EU. The laws are centered upon complete and prioritized sets of proposals put together by member states that cover several years. This paper will therefore focus on, why a businessperson should pay special attention to EU regulations.
Among the main objectives of the EU’s cross-border trade law is the contribution to the designing, performance, and development of regulatory policies, therefore, improving the interior market. This is achieved by getting rid of existing commerce barriers and avoiding the making of new ones.
Business people should pay attention to these laws because they are aimed at; putting a stop to technical obstructions in businesses by checking new law applications prepared by EU Member States while, contributing to the recognition of WTO agreements on TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade); making sure that in the non-existence of management provisions and founded on articles 34 to 36 TFEU, countries do not make or encourage barriers to trading inside the EU region; puts in a place defined laws for specific commodities and services including, “traditional approach, new approach, new laws, or on horizontal questions such as dealing with late payments in transactions, claiming payments for damage caused by bad products and the observing of the application on Union law” (Ungureanu, 2002).
All ideas shown above encourage businesses and are consumer friendly inside markets, centered on transparency, straightforward and trusted rules/regulations that put forward legal assurance and clearness to businesses despite their nature or size. Additionally, the laws boost businesses in the EU region, putting it to world-market standards and therefore able to participate and rally against the challenges ahead. Consequently, businessmen should know these laws well.
European Union Commission decrees outline the necessary requirements in business deals in the E.U region i.e., health protection and safety that commodities should meet when put on the market (Pollard & Stewart, 2010). Businessmen are supposed to know these laws well if they are to carry out their businesses in a good way in this region.
The E.U standards body has the duty of making matching technical laws meeting the necessary obligation of the decrees, compliance with which provides an assumption of agreement with the basic requirements. Such conditions are known as harmonized standards.
The institution of an inside market centered on free trade (movement of goods and services) relies upon a satisfying level of procedure harmonizing. Ever since 1985, the present approach to harmonizing and standardizing has shown a key adjustment in dealing with the plan of directives, shown in the application of article 100-A of the EU agreement.
These new approaches are based on the following main principles; an obvious division between the EEC (European Economic Community) laws and EU standardization; European Economic Community lawmaking management (i.e. EEC decrees) is restricted to the basic requirements (safety obligations of common interest) required to guarantee the free movement of goods throughout the EEC; the need of drawing-up same technical requirements is given to the standardizing organizations; products produced complying with harmonized laws are agreed to match to the necessary requirements; standards are not compulsory, they continue being planned, interchange paths are achievable but businessmen need obligations to prove that the products meet the necessary requirements; laws should present an assurance of quality as per the necessary controls of the directives; public authority is still responsible for the protection of requirements, and protection sections force member states to obtain all suitable procedures to remove unsafe commodities from the market (Schwarcz, 2007). Therefore it is evident that businessmen in this region need to know these laws to run their businesses smoothly.
When comparing with the previous directives, some developments have been realized these are; on laws dealing with a larger family of commodities; laws that wrap up horizontal risks; introduce close-up co-operation within authorities and businessmen, and are based on total harmony i.e. replacement and differences in national legislations.
New laws have an amount of flexibility permitted in the majority of directives. The new laws show what is to be attained but no particulars of the resulting technical explanation; presents varied alternatives for agreement assessment; and do not require regular adjustment to technical progress.
In the perception of the presented new laws, additional provisions are superposed to the EU standards to take up the precise roles of harmonized standards. As shown by Andersons, the EEC gives standardization permits as per the processes of declaration 98/34/EC “(consolidating Directive-83/189/EEC); the standards are developed in taking due account of the needed requirements; and the reference of the standard is published in the Official Journal with the indication of the Directive for which the supposition of compliance should apply” (Andersons, 2009).
The EU standardization organization has internal appraisal processes ensuring that requirements have been effected including precise directive procedures applicable when standards are found to be unsuccessful in fulfilling the roles assigned to it under the EEC laws. Here again, businessmen need to know these laws because going against them would bring about losses, barriers to trading and stoppage to trading in the region.
The laws that manage freedom of movement for commodities, service, people, and other business-oriented constituents are not, by themselves adequate to attain the objectives of business operations in the European Union.
These goals can be fully realized only if E.U laws create a favorable atmosphere for businessmen to carry out their businesses across borders. Businessmen are supposed to be certain that, they are competing on level playing grounds and that suitable lawful structures are in existence allowing all businesses, whether small or big, to function efficiently across the EU region. Because of this, the European Union Commission (EC) is keen on improving the regulating environment where businessmen work. In so doing, businessmen are helped in competing successfully on the global market. However, businessmen are supposed to fully pay special attention to these laws, to transact well and with ease.
Other sections where the E.U wants the laws better (for businesses and the removing of problems to cross border business) involve contract law and taxation. In this area, the EC wants to remove barriers that businessmen face, who are interested in doing businesses within the Single-Market dealing with numerous tax laws.
References
Andersons, K. 2009. Regulating Financial Systems. London: Oxford University Press.
Pollard, D & Stewart, J. 2010. The European Union Directives. London: Cambridge University press.
Ungureanu, C. 2002. EU Business Laws. Iasi: Cuza University Press.
Schwarcz, S. 2007. European Union Laws and standardization of Trade. Stanford Journal of Law, Business & Finance 12, pp. 486-535.