Britain is paying £27.4 billion a year due to the burden of the European Union's most expensive regulations, a report has found.
The findings came from a study of the 100 most expensive European Union regulations by the Open Europe think-tank, which also concluded that 24 of the rules had greater drawbacks than benefits.
Open Europe analyst Vincenzo Scarpetta said: “According to the government’s own figures, we know that nearly a quarter of the EU’s most costly regulations impose a net cost on the UK economy.
“At a time when businesses across Europe are desperately struggling for growth, it is hard to understand how policymakers can knowingly impose costs on the economy that outweigh the stated benefits of regulation."
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This comes after research suggested that British businesses have been burdened with 3,580 new European Union rules and directives under the coalition despite David Cameron's commitment to fight Brussels regulation.
The massive pile of new rules, amounting to 13 million extra words, would take 92 days to read at an average pace, according to the Business for Britain group, which is campaigning for a renegotiation of the UK's terms of EU membership.
“The EU has an addiction to red tape that desperately needs to be tackled,” said Business for Britain's Matthew Elliott.
