A Practical Guide to the EU - Part Two

Making the EU work for You

In the last article I explained the role and function of the main European institutions and I urged you as a business person to use it to your own advantage. But how?

First of all, if you have any queries, or want to get more information on various aspects of the EU, the most comprehensive website is probably the EU's own homepage: http://europa.eu.int/index_en.htm.

Secondly, the EU institutions are well aware that the EU exists to serve its citizens and can succeed only if its citizens understand and are fully involved in its decision-making system. Accordingly, Article III-236 of the Draft Constitution for Europe states: "Any citizen of the Union, and any natural or legal person residing or having its registered office in a Member State, shall have the right to address, individually or in association with other citizens or persons, a petition to the European Parliament on a matter which comes within the Union's fields of activity and which affects him directly."

Every citizen can therefore influence the Parliament. And it is not only at election time, when you vote for your MEP, that you can exercise this influence, but actually through contacting your MEP with any matter that concerns you. Furthermore, through the MEP you can also inform and be informed by the Council of the European Union as well as the European Commission. These institutions are inter-active as you can see. So raise "Your Voice in Europe" on http://europa.eu.int/yourvoice/index_en.htm, the European Commission's "single access point" enabling you to play an active role in the European policy-making process.

You'll find the web addresses of the North West's 10 MEPs under North West on http://www.europarl.org.uk/uk_meps/MembersMain.htm. Keep them informed about what is going on in your region and ask them questions, e.g. of how certain legislation affects you, about certain websites that might be useful to you and your business, of whom to approach best with certain requests, i.e. with regard to European funding. Indeed, watch out for the vast array of European funding projects - you might be able to benefit from one yourself! A very good starting point for anyone looking for information on funding available from the EU is the `Grants & Loans´ website: http://europa.eu.int/grants/index_en.htm.

With the Euro - the world's second most important currency! - prices and costs are becoming more transparent within the euro area, and the operation of payment systems is running more smoothly. So if you are dealing with business partners in one of the twelve Euro-countries, a rough rule of fist for you might be: quote your customers in euros (in order to comply with the transparency of your competitor's prices), but you can charge your suppliers in either € or £, since they are selling to you.
Even though many people are afraid of new regulations and increasing red-tape, it is often the opposite: bureaucracy is becoming more business-friendly. A business client in Germany, working for one of the biggest garden nurseries in Europe, explained to me last August that he could now trace where every single plant and tree he exported had been sold - and how it was faring.

And if I can help you through the forest of EU data and websites, I will be happy to oblige.