Media

New analyses from European think tanks, including the EPICENTER network, expose how regulatory complexity, tax burdens and rigid labour rules are stifling small and medium enterprises across the EU. A study by Javaloyes Legal, featured in Europa Press, shows Spain lagging in entrepreneurial friendliness and competitiveness rankings. With SMEs making up over 99% of European companies, the reports warn that excessive administrative and compliance costs continue to hold back growth and job creation.

The EU Regulatory Observatory’s report “Unlocking the True Value of Our Energy Union” welcomes tax cuts and faster permitting in the Commission’s €130 billion Affordable Energy Action Plan but criticises its deep contradictions: pursuing lower prices while forcing rapid decarbonisation, centralising markets yet demanding efficiency, and relying on immature technologies. Scoring just 5.15/10, the study warns that price controls and interventionism risk higher costs and market distortions.

The EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is heavily criticised in Brussels Report for raising costs for European manufacturers, especially SMEs, while phasing out free allowances and imposing burdensome reporting requirements. Drawing on Epicenter expertise, the article warns that the selective mechanism distorts supply chains, invites retaliation from trading partners, and disadvantages developing countries – ultimately risking trade wars and undermining international climate efforts rather than strengthening them.

New EPICENTER research covering 28 countries shows a clear statistical link: every €1 tax-driven price increase expands the black-market share by 5–12 percentage points. Countries such as France, the UK, Greece and Ireland have seen illicit trade soar after major tax hikes, while legal sales collapse and smoking prevalence barely budges. The result is lost revenue, stronger criminal networks and thousands of self-employed tobacconists across Europe at risk.

EPICENTER’s latest 28-country analysis confirms that every additional €1 in taxation pushes the illicit cigarette market up by 5–12 percentage points. In nations like France, Ireland, Greece and the UK, sharp excise increases have triggered dramatic rises in smuggling, slashed legal sales and left smoking rates largely unchanged—delivering windfall profits to criminals while endangering the livelihoods of small, self-employed retailers.

A new European study featured in Autónomos y Emprendedor reveals how steep tobacco taxes are driving a boom in cigarette smuggling across 28 countries, eroding public revenues and endangering self-employed tobacconists' livelihoods. EPICENTER analysis shows a statistically significant correlation: every €1 tax-driven price hike boosts the black-market share by 5–12 percentage points. Nations like France, the UK, Greece and Ireland have experienced sharp illicit trade rises after major tax increases, with legal sales plummeting while smoking rates hold steady—shifting consumers to contraband and empowering criminal networks.

A new Financial Times analysis highlights Epicenter’s latest research showing that the total word count of EU legislation has surged over 700% since the Maastricht Treaty. This unchecked regulatory accumulation is presented as a core reason for Europe’s declining competitiveness, driving up compliance costs, slowing decision-making, protecting incumbents and diverting resources from innovation to bureaucracy. The piece underlines how political incentives make meaningful deregulation politically near-impossible.

EPICENTER’s 2025 Nanny State Index, featured in MSN Norway, ranks European countries on tobacco, junk food, and alcohol regulations, each weighted at 33.3% for a score out of 100. It highlights varied approaches, with stricter laws sparking debate over personal freedom versus health benefits.

Christopher Snowdon’s new EPICENTER study shows that every €1 increase in cigarette prices drives a 5–12 percentage point rise in illicit consumption across Europe. While Romania has successfully halved its black-market share from 12% to 6% through moderate taxation, the article cautions that the government’s planned 10% excise rise risks reversing these gains. In high-tax countries like the UK, France and Ireland, legal sales have collapsed without meaningful drops in smoking prevalence, boosting organised crime and eroding revenues instead.