Helping businesses cross borders

03 September, 2009

The EU is the world’s largest market, offering many business opportunities. But entrepreneurs wanting to do business across borders still face obstacles such as language barriers and difficulty in finding the necessary information.

Most governments do have websites and online services to make life easier for business, but they are aimed at local businesspeople. They know the language and the basics of doing business in their country: how the public administration works, or where to find help. Entrepreneurs from another country don’t have that background, and so often don’t know where to start.

The European Commission, along with national authorities, has launched the new Your Europe – Business portal, a multilingual practical guide to doing business across Europe.

From a single entry point, users can consult factsheets on each EU country. These cover 26 topics on every stage of the business lifecycle, from “Starting in business” to “Deciding to stop”. The portal informs entrepreneurs about a business's rights and obligations and the relevant administrative procedures. It guides them to online forms and to support organisations providing personalised help and advice. Crucially, all this information is available in several EU languages.

Your Europe could be your business opportunity.

More: http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/business/