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Brussels/Strasbourg – Members of the European Parliament (EP) on Tuesday (20 January) adopted a series of recommendations that are to become part of the European Commission’s proposal for a new legal framework to support innovative companies in the European Union, also known as the 28th legal regime. Some Slovak MEPs also commented on this proposal for TASR.
Ľudovít Ódor (PS), as the EP rapporteur for tax issues of the 28th legal regime, expressed his conviction that this proposal is a step in the right direction. “In the Union, in the last 50 years, no startup has emerged that would stay here and grow into a truly large global technology company. Winning digital markets take almost everything. They have a single market, while Europe is still playing by 27 rules on 27 playing fields. Harmonizing the rules in 27 countries would take decades, if it were even possible. If we want to succeed in global competition with the USA and China, we have to approach it differently,” he described the situation.
Branislav Ondruš (Hlas-SD) expressed support for creating suitable conditions for European technological startups, but reminded that he is among those European lawmakers who express serious concerns that the 28th legal regime may threaten the sovereignty of member states in important legal matters. “I do not agree that our Labour Code should not apply to any company doing business in Slovakia, that any company could not be inspected by our Labour Inspectorate, and so on. It is not possible for some so-called special EU legal regime to allow companies in Slovakia to ignore our legal regulations that protect workers from ruthless exploitation. Even as it is, our workers often have great difficulty enforcing their rights,” said Ondruš.
He pointed out that last year he did not vote in the EP for strengthening the rights of Slovak employees in multinational corporations, only for some of them now to be relieved of their obligations towards their workers. “I have long rejected strengthening the competitiveness of our companies at the expense of employees and their families, and I certainly cannot support the spread in Europe of exploitative practices that we know from the USA. I expect the European Commission to take the comments and objections of the European Parliament very seriously, because otherwise it will face strong resistance from those MEPs who always stand on the side of workers, not corporations,” he warned.
EP Vice-President Martin Hojsík (PS) welcomed the fact that the EP’s recommendations represent a positive shift on this issue. “We are finally moving forward in this area. I have long been advocating in the European Parliament for better conditions for European startups and this is an important step forward. If it is successfully completed, it will simplify startups’ access to investments, improve their functioning across all of Europe and thus prevent many of them from leaving Slovakia and the EU,” he explained. (22 January)
“In the EU, in the last 50 years, no startup has emerged that would stay here and grow into a truly large global technology company. Winning digital markets take almost everything. They have a single market, while Europe is still playing by 27 rules on 27 playing fields.” Ľudovít Ódor