Frequently Asked Questions
Your participation in EBTP consultations will improve the overall quality of legislation and therefore your business environment.
When the Commission prepares new policies and legislation, it needs to identify which issues are important for business.
Input through the EBTP will enable the Commission to consider fully the pros and cons of legislation for your businesses.
And once the policy is in place, you can give us feedback on what actually happened, including any unexpected side effects.
Yes, if it is established in the European Union (+ Norway and Iceland).
If you want to register as a member, all you have to do is to contact your national co-ordinator (see contacts) and provide basic information on your business to the Commission by filling in a registration form.
Of course, this information will be dealt with strictly confidentially.
Your contact details are stored in the EBTP database and checked by your national coordinator, who might ask you some more questions.
Once your membership is approved, you will be notified by email and invited to participate in the next EBTP consultation. This email will include your user name and password.
Around 6 – 8 consultations a year, on a range of topics relating to every-day business activities.
The questionnaires are translated into the official languages of the European Union. You can always reply in the language of your choice.
About 15 minutes – every consultation is just a short online questionnaire.
Inform your EBTP national coordinator, who will do it for you.
NO – the EBTP is open to companies only. However, if you are a business representative or trade association, you are welcome to inform the companies you represent about the EBTP, so they can join.
You can be an EBTP member for as long as you like. To leave, just send an email to your national coordinator asking to be removed from the panel.
This includes:
- your main field of business (economic sector)
- number of employees
- whether you import or export products/services across borders within the EU or outside it
- contact details of one person in your company to whom consultation requests should be sent.
This information is used to track the statistical representativeness of the panel and permits more detailed analysis of results. To update your information, contact your national coordinator.
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statistics – a summary of all the answers – published on the EBTP website within a week of a consultation closing
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summary report – 3 – 4 weeks later, with main findings and more information on policy implications and future follow-up
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newsletter – twice a year – overview of the current status of recent consultations and more details on how EBTP results have fed into new policies
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informal feedback – contact your national coordinator.
The Commission does its best to single out how EBTP consultations were dealt with and what role they played in the decision-making process. For example, each time the results of EBTP consultations are used in reports preparing and describing future policy proposals, they will be clearly indicated as such.
The Commission will also explain how results from EBTP consultations were taken into account in evaluating and comparing different policy options.
We only consult you on issues of direct relevance to businesses (a broad range). Each consultation (around 6–8 a year) is on a different subject.
So far, subjects have included financial issues (e.g. availability of bank credit for companies, late payments, payments in euro zone, etc.), the regulatory environment (e.g. accounting and auditing rules, administrative burden for businesses, etc.), employment and labour law (e.g. work-life balance, diversity and discrimination in the workplace, etc.), taxation, environmental laws, consumer protection, etc.
NO, not at all – you can reply to whichever issues interest you.
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