Businesses require simpler procedures, greater freedom in Europe: Goyal

HAGUE: Highlighting the growing regulatory burden in Europe, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal Monday said businesses wanted greater freedom, simpler procedures and less paperwork, while urging Dutch companies to deepen their engagement with India and tap opportunities in its expanding economy.Goyal said he had repeatedly raised the issue and that businesses had privately told him he should have spoken more on it.“The world wants deregulation. The world wants more freedom. The business world is looking for less compliance burden, simpler processes, simpler procedures, less paperwork,” Goyal said at the India-Netherlands Business Forum.The remarks came days after Goyal said at the Berlin Global Dialogue that the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) could hurt European industries. Dutch foreign trade and development cooperation minister Sjoerd Sjoerdsma, however, emphasised the need for regulations, while adding that the EU was trying to simplify them.“The European Commission is currently implementing an agenda of deregulation. At the same time, certain rules and regulations are crucial to protecting consumers in the European Union, whether it comes to climate, product quality or product safety. These rules very much benefit consumers in the European market, and of course, we should retain them,” Sjoerdsma said.Sjoerdsma also ruled out renegotiating CBAM, saying he viewed it as a necessary measure to ensure countries adhered to the goals of the Paris climate agreement.At the forum, Goyal pitched India as a major investment destination, citing its expanding infrastructure, young workforce, growing consumer market and access to clean energy.Highlighting the potential in emerging sectors, Goyal said India’s expanding power capacity and growing share of clean energy would create opportunities for data centres and other energy-intensive industries, potentially attracting around $200 billion in investments in the sector over the coming years.