Therefore the Commission will consider to withdraw proposals identified in this category including the soil directive and a directive simplifying VAT obligations, a proposal on the statute of a European private company , the regulation on statistics on steel and the retrofitting of mirrors to heavy goods vehicles.

Withdrawal of the proposal for a Council Regulation on the statute of a European private company: The proposal was made in 2008 and is pending decision by the co-legislators since.

It will increase the aid intensity for SMEs and make it easier for SMEs to benefit from aid for training, research and development, environmental protection and other types of aid. Secondly, a new statute for a European Private Company will allow a "Société privée européenne" (SPE) to be created and operate according to the same uniform principles in all Member States.

European Private Company Statute – The Council, with renewed political support from the European Commission, must intensify its efforts to resolve the impasse on the European Private Company Statute (SPE), the only legislative proposal contained in the SBA not to have been agreed.

4. Reduce administrative burdens and promote entrepreneurship Building on the Small Business Act, and in order significantly reduce administrative burdens on business, promote their cash flow and help more people to become entrepreneurs, the EU and Member States should: Ensure that starting up a business anywhere in the EU can be done within three days at zero costs and that formalities for the hiring of the first employee can be fulfilled via a single access point; Remove the requirement on micro-enterprises to prepare annual accounts (the estimated savings for these companies are € 7bn per year) and limit the capital requiremen ...[+++]ts of the European private company to one euro; Accelerate the adoption of the European private company statute proposal so that from early 2009 it can facilitate cross border business activities of SMEs and to allow them to work under a single set of corporate rules across the EU; Ensure that public authorities pay invoices, including to SMEs, for supplies and services within one month to ease liquidity constraints and accept e-invoicing as equivalent to paper invoicing (this could deliver cost reductions of up to 18 € Bn); any arrears owed by public bodies should also be settled; Reduce by up to 75% the fees for patent applications and maintenance and halve the costs for an EU trademark.

What is the aim of creating a "European Private Company" Statute?