February 13, 2007	Tuesday	Muharram 24, 1428

LONDON, Feb 12: The European Commission will on Wednesday propose a package of new rules to lower trade barriers within the bloc that cost businesses as much as 150 billion euros per year, the Financial Times reported.

Citing a copy of the plans that it had seen, the business daily said the proposals will mean that companies that seek to export to another EU member state will no longer have to prove that their products and services comply with that country's rules.Instead, authorities in the receiving country will have to provide “scientific evidence” in order to enforce restrictions on the product or service in question.

According to the FT, some estimates of the additional cost to business of the barriers can be as high as 150 billion euros ($195 billion) per year, costs that are mostly borne by small and medium-sized businesses.

The newspaper said that the EU member states have set up obstacles to trade in sectors ranging from used cars to the construction machinery.—AFP