Complying with red tape has cost European business insurance holders €1 trillion (£0.87 trillion) over the past 11 years, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has revealed.
Research from Eurochambres, the representative body for chambers of commerce across the continent, suggested that this is the total business insurance customers have needed to spend to meet European Union (EU) regulations and their reporting requirements.
The study also noted that the annual cost of these obligations is worth more than 12 per cent of EU gross domestic product and claimed that the regulations are "burdensome" and "poorly designed".
David Frost, director general of the BCC, commented that the research suggests the "EU needs to get serious about reducing the massive burden of regulation on business".
In addition, Francis Chittenden, co-author and professor at Manchester Business School, said: "EU regulations are largely driven by political considerations with inadequate assessment of the impacts on business and the economy."
Last month's BCC workforce survey revealed that 47 per cent of the UK's smallest companies claimed complying with employment law is one of the biggest challenges facing them.
