Scandinavia tops Union enterprise league

Date: 02/11/00

By Peter Chapman

THE Internet-friendly Scandinavian member states are among the best at nurturing enterprise in the EU, according to a European Commission report due out next week which will also shame the laggards who are hampering the Union's efforts to catch up with the US and Japan.

Sources say the Finnish Enterprise Commissioner Erkki Liikanen's home country is vying with Sweden and Denmark for top honours in the report, which uses a series of key indicators to compare member states' success in boosting the competitiveness of their economies.

The report, which will be presented to EU industry ministers in December, focuses on countries' track records in 31 different areas. Sweden, which is a world player in mobile telecoms technology, tops the Union's research and development league, followed by its Scandinavian neighbours, Germany and France. The Scandinavians also perform well in terms of Internet use per inhabitant, along with the UK, with all four countries ahead of other member states.

In addition, say officials, Finland and Denmark, along with the UK, Portugal and Austria, "scored well" on linking secondary schools to the Web.

But the Scandinavian member states are less successful when it comes to providing access to venture capital for 'early-stage' companies, ranking behind the Netherlands, Belgium and the UK. The trio also lag behind in terms of cutting the red tape facing former bankrupts anxious to launch new business ventures - another area regarded as a top priority by Liikanen.

Sources say the Commissioner wants to end the "stigma of failure" felt by EU entrepreneurs whose businesses have collapsed but who might have bounced back with another, more profitable idea had domestic regulations not stifled their attempts.

The report says the Scandinavian trio, plus Germany and Ireland, allow creditors to make claims on bankrupt firms for longer than other member states, with the deadline ranging from ten to 12 years. This compares with only one year in the US, seen as the most supportive nation in the world to entrepreneurs.

Spain and Germany are bottom of the league when it comes to another measure of business red tape, with the two countries imposing the longest delays before new companies can complete the registration process.

The report will point to mixed results for the EU as a whole, compared with its main trade rivals, the US and Japan. The US leads the way in innovation, with American firms more willing and able to put in place new technology to boost production. But the Union is the world leader in the mobile telecoms sector, which is seen as a vital enabling technology for the Internet age. The report says Sweden is using its strength in this sector to compete head-to-head with the US in the R&D stakes.

The Internet-friendly Scandinavian Member States are among the best at nurturing enterprise in the EU, according to a forthcoming European Commission report which will also shame the laggards who are hampering the Union's efforts to catch up with the US and Japan.