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How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

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Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#111

Post by Jskewel »

PPWR is an EU catastrophe.

Firstly for the reasons outlined in the article: it essentially makes being a micro/small business in the EU impossible, if your market is other EU countries.

Secondly because it validates insidious populist views that the EU institution is useless and incompetent at a fundamental level.

The legislation is so ABSURDIST that the EU have actually asked companies to ignore the law that they just implemented. I can assure you it is difficult to ignore a law that comes with a €200000 fine for non-compliance.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#113

Post by deliciousturkey »

One additional problem is that this reduces options as a consumer in smaller EU countries. Smaller ships no longer are willing to take on the risk and bureaucracy of selling to smaller markets, meaning only a few, large players remain. Like Amazon, Temu, Aliexpress, or larger local companies.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#114

Post by khalic »

thunspa wrote: post #100
khalic wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Europe's smart people are going to have to move to another country to be entrepreneurs Watch the stats please, the contrary is happening right now, plenty of American talents coming to Europe.

Please share said stats with us

https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/how-much-research-talent-co... for an analysis and https://www.euractiv.com/opinion/europes-battle-for-american...

Nothing definitive but it's still early in the exodus

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#115

Post by leros »

some_random wrote: post #64
SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Selective enforcement is a tyranny generator. How about the law doesn’t exist if it doesn’t actually make sense?

Selective enforcement is just tyranny, but what I think they were getting at is a minimum size enshrined in law. I don't think it's a great idea, really highlights how arbitrary this all is and presents a risk of advantaging the worst actors more than real makers, but it's a valid way forward.

Laws like this are a good idea but its too burdensome for small companies so it cripples innovations and small businesses. Only applying it to larger companies let's it apply to only the companies who have the largest impact and also can afford compliance, while not stifling small businesses. Not perfect but I think it's a decent tradeoff.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#116

Post by dgellow »

ToucanLoucan wrote: post #70
jwildeboer wrote: post #48

FTR. The whole PPWR process started back in 2015, there was a public consultation period in 2020-21, the new rules were entered into force in February 2025 and now the general application happened. So there was plenty of time to prepare, as far as I can see. People that run a business in the EU and now claim to be surprised, they, well, surprise me.

It also surprises and bewilders me that businesses (usually tech or tech adjacent) apparently expect and have for some time expected the ability to do business internationally completely without friction. Which is less something I think is a good or bad idea, and far more just simply an unrealistic one. If you want to sell in a given set of countries, I would think it a given that you would have to deal with the regu…

The whole point of the EU single market is to remove that friction

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#117

Post by oblio »

throw-the-towel wrote: post #90
oblio wrote: post #30

This is a direct result of national politics. EU member states want all the benefits of integration without giving anything up, especially things that they consider aspects of national sovereignty. * * * I'll give you an example. I'm from Romania. In Romania in 1990 there were no private enterprises, so everything was state owned. There was a HUGE demand for commerce/retail, so small local businesses popped up. They…

I feel for you, but the points you're making seem to be contradictory. You don't like that European companies bought out Romanian ones, yet at the same time you don't like that Europe has small versions of everything for each country instead of big mega-corps like Carrefour and Aldi? Or perhaps you're OK with mega-corps, and just want some of them to be Romanian?

> I feel for you, but the points you're making seem to be contradictory.

No, that is actually one of the points, I'm glad someone noticed it.

I, too, want to have my cake and eat it, too. This is a contradiction that can't easily be resolved.

I'd want Romanian sovereignty AND the convenience of big companies with lots of economic power. I guess, to your direct comment, yeah, I'd be happy enough with a few European "champions" out of hundreds being Romanian.

Personally, I lean more towards EU federalism so this cognitive dissonance is probably 30-70 towards big companies, because I think otherwise the EU will be crushed by outsiders.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#119

Post by maattdd »

oblio wrote: post #30

This is a direct result of national politics. EU member states want all the benefits of integration without giving anything up, especially things that they consider aspects of national sovereignty. * * * I'll give you an example. I'm from Romania. In Romania in 1990 there were no private enterprises, so everything was state owned. There was a HUGE demand for commerce/retail, so small local businesses popped up. They…

There are a lot of Aldi in France (also Lidl, also Action (Netherlands)...) Not sure of your point.

Re: How Europe is killing makers and micro-entrepreneurs

#120

Post by dragochat »

philipallstar wrote: post #92
bluegatty wrote: post #84

Regulatory capture in this case. They need proportionality and size/qty exemptions

Regulatory capture doesn't exist. Only corrupt and/or incompetent regulators.

all people are somewhat corrupt or incompentent.

that's why it only makes sense so think in broader terms, and a broader level regulatory capture absolutely exists.

the problem is that to solve regulatory capture in the EU parts of governments would have so go to war against corporations on the part of SMBs. but... governments in Europe de facto don't even recognize the right to exist of SMBs, basically _nothin_ of the large swath of government contracts fall to misc small businesses that would be perfectly capable to deliver on them at even 4x the quality standard corrupto-corpos do... probably there's some positive counteexamples in the weapons industry recently since we've realized we really do need quality weaponry at great value "by yesterday morning", but besides that... govs _HATE_ both SMBs and startups-from-unkowns (god forbit bootstrapped...).

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