Some of this just needn't apply, especially from a UK perspective; you can operate as a sole trader with very little paperwork until you make £85,000 and have to register for VAT. You don't need a company shell or a business bank account.

"Social security" equivalent: as a sole trader you do have to pay National Insurance above a minimum threshold.

(one of the massive differences between UK regulatory culture and the EU is that the UK is very good at having "de minimis" thresholds so you don't have to worry about compliance until you've actually made decent money. EU rules tend to apply as soon as you sell a single item, which is ridiculous)

> Electronics specific. CE compliance is expensive.

This on the other hand is a real problem. WEEE as well.

> shipping rates

It is insane that it is cheaper to ship from China than intra-EU.

Every country has hurdles. It's not like the US doesn't have weird worlds of tax exemptions, and 50 sets of state tax regulation to consider [or outsource to your fulfilment platform...] when shipping to consumers, and if I was a US business importing microelectronics from China, 21% import tax that doesn't change every couple of months would sound like a *dream...