Companies doing business in Europe are well aware of the European Union. But what some might yet not be so aware of is how important the EU institutions in Brussels and elsewhere can become for their business. What you don't know can hurt you a lot indeed. Consider the following:
In 2005, the EU adopted IAS as the common accounting standard framework for companies listed on European securities markets. By 2009, the rules will also become applicable to non-EU companies. Japanese companies raised about 3 trillion yen in European capital markets recently. However, the costs of applying the EU standard in parallel with the Japanese accounting rules could be immense. The only way out might be to adjust the Japanese accounting framework.
Or to look at other cases: In July of this year, Microsoft was hit with massive fines of 1.5 million euro ($1.9 million) per day. The infraction? Violation of European Union anticompetition laws. In the past Sony, too, felt the pain: in 2001, just before it was to begin selling 1.3 million PlayStation units for the Christmas sales season, it was found that cadmium levels in the cables exceeded limits specified in EU health regulations. Sony had to replace them before sales could take place.