Open consultations on enterprise featured on new Commission portal
Several open consultations on enterprise have already been posted on the European Commission's newly created web portal that helps European citizens have their say in EU policy making. The new 'Your Voice in Europe' portal is available in all eleven EU languages and is aimed at encouraging citizens, businesses and all other stakeholders to tell the Commission what they think about new policy initiatives. '[...] By keeping our ear to the ground, we help ensure that our new policy initiatives have a solid basis. [...] we need to use new technologies to make it as easy and convenient as possible for people to tell us what they think. The 'Your Voice in Europe' portal will be an enormous asset in doing that,' said Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein. The web portal provides chat facilities, useful contacts and feedback services to citizens who wish to know more about policy making in Europe. It also provides access to the Commission's public consultations covering all EU policies. Citizens, businesses and all other interested parties can choose a consultation in a particular area, such as research and technology and information society. Online consultations have already taken place, most notably in the field of enterprise. Interested members of the public have commented on a variety of enterprise related issues: trust barriers for business to business (B2B) e-marketplaces; pan-European government e-services and a review of the 'New Approach'. The most recent addition for consultation in the field of Enterprise is a questionnaire and interactive discussion on whether it is necessary to fix the quantity of every pack, bottle or container on sale in supermarkets, chemists and hardware shops. The results of such consultations are available through the portal as soon as they are closed, so that as well as giving their own opinions, users of the service will be able to see what others have said and subsequently see how the Commission has taken this into account when new policy proposals are published. The development of a single access point for public consultations is part of the implementation of the 'general principles and minimum standards for consultation', recently adopted by the Commission.