Best ideas nominated for Red Tape Reduction Award

The Red Tape Reduction Award had been suggested by the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens. On 31 March a jury, jointly co-chaired by European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen and Dr. Edmund Stoiber, the chairman of the High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens, came together to shortlist three candidates out of more than 500 ideas submitted to the Commission and the HLG. The submitted ideas have been evaluated according to criteria such as originality, feasibility and overall potential to reduce burdens, notably for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs). The three candidates were invited to Prague on 13 May 2009, where the award ceremony will take place and the winner will be announced.