The Future of Our Companies Is at Stake Due to Increasing European Bureaucracy
Guest Column “De Pen” from June 11, 2026, in the Dutch Trade Magazine Profiel
Robert Schlieper – Managing Director, WILKA Schließtechnik GmbH
First of all, I would like to thank the team at Profiel for giving me the opportunity to write this contribution for “De Pen.” I would like to share a major concern: the growing regulatory burden in Europe, which is making it increasingly difficult for businesses to operate. As a result, both the continuity and innovative strength of our industry are under threat. Why are policymakers burdening us with this increasing bureaucracy? Put differently: will small and medium-sized enterprises still exist in ten years' time?
Almost every day, I find myself wondering how policymakers in Brussels can make decisions without truly understanding their practical consequences. Our daily task as companies should not be to ask ourselves: Which new requirements do I have to comply with today in order to satisfy Brussels?
One example is the impact of CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) on European industry. The basic idea is good. However, under the current rules, raw materials must meet specific requirements. If they do not, manufacturers are required to purchase emission certificates, making those materials more expensive. Even raw materials sourced from abroad must comply with these requirements.
At present, however, these rules do not apply to finished products such as locks and cylinders. This means that comparable products from China are not required to meet the same standards. Consequently, no certificates need to be purchased for these products. As you may have already guessed, this immediately makes products from China cheaper. And we are left at a competitive disadvantage.
For us as a company, this means that if we were to focus solely on costs and regulation, we would have to relocate our production abroad. But that is precisely what we do not want to do. As a traditional family-owned company, we are part of the SME sector. We bear responsibility for regional employment. We stand for continuity. It cannot be right that everything we have built together over many years through hard work could be jeopardized by this bureaucracy. Why does Europe not give us the necessary freedom to focus on our core business?
With the sheer volume of regulations—and there are more every year—we are increasingly losing track of the requirements we are expected to meet. Our money is being spent on administration instead of innovation. Even in Germany, industry associations are struggling to understand what is actually being decided in Brussels.
Please consider this column a cry for help. I hope that policymakers and politicians will read these words and realize that things cannot continue in this way. Our strong industries in Germany and the Netherlands—and in Europe as a whole—want to survive and be passed on to the next generation. The pressing question, however, is: how much longer can we continue under these conditions?
In short, which of the ladies and gentlemen in politics and administration will take up this wake-up call? The future of our companies is at stake due to the continuing bureaucratization of Europe.