Last month Scottish busessman, Robert Kilgour, launched a new independent think tank to explore how Scots can influence future laws coming out of the European Union.

Kilgour reminded us that 75 per cent of the rules and regulations which govern Scotland come directly from there.

"For too long we have sat back and accepted what is coming our way," he said. "This is a real opportunity to shape the future and make sure that people are think­ing about, talking about and sharing the matters of most concern here in Scotland."

He has agreed to fund ThinkScotland until 2009 when the next European elections are being held, with the hope that by that time both business and the general public will be much better informed about its influence.

The UK had the lowest turn-out of any country for the last European Parliamentary elections and I suspect most people feel it doesn't make any difference if they bother to vote or not.

But as we all know, it has a huge influence on many aspects of our lives and, in particular, on business which bears the brunt of the majority of the legislation pouring out of it.

We welcome the formation of this new body which, as far as I am aware, is the only one of its kind in Scotland.

Businesses regularly complain about the burden of red tape and, hopefully, through its research activities ThinkScotland will be able to identify clearly the regulations that need to be axed or reformed and then lobby for that to happen.

We regularly hear about the uneven playing field, where some countries are more vigilant than others in forcing companies to comply with new laws. The common complaint is that the UK bureaucrats gold plate already onerous EU regulations.

I would urge companies to take advantage of this new organisation and really take some time to think about the laws that seriously need to be reformed. I do hope that complacency won't win the day.

Another aspect of that playing field relates to takeovers in the EU and recent events have brought that issue to the fore again.

As I write, ScottishPower is a possible takeover target for Spanish energy group, Iberdrola. Although some political parties might protest loudly about a major Scottish company being swallowed up and headquarters shifted elsewhere, it is unlikely that any move would be made to prevent a takeover.

Yet in Spain, Eon is meeting political resistance in trying to acquire Iberdrola's biggest rival, Endesa.

If ScottishPower wanted to make a bid for a German or French energy company it would be met with a brick wall.

We often hear business leaders say that it is the openness of the UK market which enables it to work so well and the economy benefits.

And it would be wrong for us to prevent takeovers while at the same time praising companies like Royal Bank of Scotland, Scottish & Newcastle, Aggreko, Weir and many others that have huge overseas interests and are constantly on the look-out for suitable acquisitions.

But it seems to me that by turning a blind eye to that uneven playing field we risk creating an unfair balance of power in our economy.

Businesses obviously hate political interference, but in the interests of the future prosperity of Scotland and the UK it is worth considering a review of who owns what and a look back at the history of takeover bids in Europe.

If a clearly unfair picture emerges, something needs to be done about it and those politicians we pay to represent us in Brussels can hopefully try and resolve the issue.

2006 has been a good year for Insider and I would like to thank all our readers and advertisers for their loyalty and continued support. May I wish you a peaceful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.