Liikanen stresses benefits of regulation
Speaking in Brussels on 6 February, Erkki Liikanen, European Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society outlined how regulation can aid many e-businesses, especially SMEs. Five different instruments or methods are at the disposal of regulators, said Mr Liikanen: no regulation, self-regulation, negotiated agreements, alternative regulatory approaches and traditional regulation. The Commissioner went on to say that new forms of policy cooperation must offer both flexibility and security. 'The challenge for regulators is thus to develop new forms of policy cooperation between governments and private sectors, which can deliver both flexibility and security...Political objectives can be fulfilled while the necessary flexibility is ensured, thus enabling interested parties to innovate and change,' said Mr Liikanen. On this issue of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms (ADRs), Mr Liikanen stressed the importance of an effective system for both consumers and business, saying 'many e-businesses, especially SMEs, might be discouraged from entering the electronic market place because of the risk associated with litigation in an unknown forum. [...] The main challenge is now to successfully apply ADRs in the online environment.'