NORTHERN BUSINESS: The Assembly report on Europe, published yesterday, is good news for small businesses, according to that sector's leading agency.

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) said three of the recommendations it made had been adopted.

In the report, the Assembly states its intention to establish a European Affairs Committee, appoint a Junior Minister for European Affairs and set up a consultative forum of all the key players that lobby the EU.

A spokesman for the FSB said it had put forward these proposals in order to secure a more transparent and accountable relationship between local political institutions and the European Union.

"With so many directives and legislation now coming from the European Union, it is essential for local small businesses to have this more effective relationship," said Mr Wilfred Mitchell, chairman of the FSB policy committee.