Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. Smart regulation – responding to the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises form the backbone of the European economy, contributing significantly to innovation, growth and job creation. In the EU, some 20.7 million SMEs employ 67% of the private sector workforce. A recent study has shown that 85% of net new jobs in the EU between 2002 and 2010 were created by SMEs. This clearly indicates their importance for economic growth and job creation in Europe.

SMEs can thrive best in a business environment in which regulation respects the specific needs of SME while pursuing its policy objectives. Regulation is necessary for the Single Market, creating a level playing field by ensuring fair competition, contributing to human health and safety and protecting the environment, workers and consumers. It is a vehicle through which EU public policy aims are achieved bringing benefits to Europe's citizens. It needs to be designed with SMEs in mind.

Since the adoption of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA), cutting red tape and listening to the voice of SMEs have been firmly embedded in the Commission's work. The Commission Communication on 'Minimising regulatory burden for SMEs – Adapting EU regulation to the needs of micro-enterprises' from 2011 takes this work a step further. It builds on the “Think Small First” principle set out in the SBA which requires that impacts on SMEs be taken into account when designing legislation and that the existing regulatory environment be simplified. It established the possibility for the exemption of micro-enterprises from regulation when justified and for lighter regulatory regimes for SMEs.

More recently, the Industrial Policy Communication recommended simplification of the regulatory and administrative environment, especially for SMEs and highlighted the importance of a simple, stable and predictable long term regulatory framework for investment in new technologies and innovation. Finally, the new Regulatory Fitness and Performance Programme (REFIT), makes the identification of simplification possibilities, unnecessary regulatory costs and areas for performance improvement an integral and stable part of policy making and programming.

This Communication reviews progress in:
- applying the micro-enterprise exemption;
- introducing lighter regulatory regimes for SMEs;
- introducing the SME scoreboard;
- ensuring regulatory fitness.

It also identifies the next steps that will be taken for SMEs in policy making and programming.

EUR-Lex: COM(2013)122: Follow the progress of this communication through the decision-making procedure http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/HIS/?uri=COM:2013:122:FIN

EUR-Lex: SWD(2013)60: Monitoring and consultation on smart regulation for SMEs http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=SWD:2013:060:FIN

ESO: Background information: Commission wants to simplify life for SMEs by easing the top 10 most burdensome EU laws http://www.europeansources.info/record/press-release-commission-wants-to-simplify-life-for-smes-by-easing-the-top-10-most-burdensome-eu-laws/

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