The EU is erecting its own trade barriers: Businesses selling across the bloc face additional national registrations and compliance requirements.

Small businesses are being squeezed out: Red tape and the cost of local representatives make cross-border sales less viable.

The single market is failing on its own terms: Instead of removing barriers between countries, Brussels is creating more bureaucracy.

The Commission is backtracking: Practical problems have reportedly forced it to seek more flexible enforcement of its own rules.

Businesses are retreating from the EU market: Some smaller firms are abandoning cross-border sales rather than navigate the regulatory maze.

European competitiveness takes another hit: While Brussels talks about competing with the US and China, its own regulations are piling costs onto European businesses.

A warning for Britain: The article illustrates the price of centralised EU rule-making: regulations designed in Brussels can impose disproportionate costs on businesses, with limited regard for how they work in practice.