Business advice website from EU Commission

STARTING a business is challenging enough, but getting one off the ground in another country opens up a whole new bunch of questions.

The European Commission's Your Europe - Business website provides access to information on doing business in other EU states.

The site is aimed at smaller businesses and offers direct access to e-government services such as VAT refund procedures, and a run-down of the business support services in a chosen country.

I spotted a few pages that were lacking content, and you will still need your dictionary to hand as most of the nitty-gritty questions are answered via links to official French government websites.

But the site might prove useful if you are just planning ahead of starting a business in France.