European Commission proposes greater support for small businesses and new initiative to boost entrepreneurship, January 2003

In order to achieve one of the key objectives of the Lisbon process - the growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union - and the follow-up principle of 'think small first' agreed at the Feira European Council in June 2000, the European Commission is calling on Member States to focus more on SMEs in their policy making and to take measures to boost entrepreneurship.

On 21 January 2003, the European Commission adopted a package of documents that together provide an overview of EU policy towards small and medium-sized businesses, reviewing recent progress and outlining possible further action. The 'SME package' is composed of four individual reports:

• The 2003 implementation report on the European Charter for Small Enterprises in the EU Member States [COM(2003)21]
• The 2003 implementation report on the European Charter for Small Enterprises in the candidate countries [SEC(2003)57]
• The report on the EU activities in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises [SEC(2003)58]
• The report of activity of the SME Envoy of the European Commission [SEC(2003)60]

The main findings of the individual reports are collated in one Communication entitled, 'Thinking Small in an Enlarging Europe' [COM(2003)26 final], which calls on the Member States to step up their efforts to 'think small first'. In particular, the report highlights the need for greater consultation of SMEs in the policy making process in EU Member States, although Austria, Germany, Denmark and the United Kingdom are all praised for providing SMEs with an opportunity to voice their opinions on government policies. In addition, the promotion of consultation between SMEs and the EU isis a major task for the European Commission SME Envoy, appointed within the Enterprise Directorate. The report suggests that the SME Envoy 'can play an important role inincreasing the awareness of SME issues inside the Commission, in fostering dialogue withbusiness organisations and in promoting the 'think small first' principle'. The report also notes the need for a greater exchange of good practice between Member States, and Candidate Countries are also targeted in the report, which calls on them to encourage the financial sector to provide more loans to SMEs.

The SME package of reports provides the backdrop to another Commission initiative launched on 21 January 2003 - the publication of a Green Paper on the future agenda for entrepreneurship. The European Commission believes that faster progress is needed to enable the EU tomeet the Lisbon objective of making Europe the most competitive and dynamic knowledge basedeconomy in the world by 2010 and that increased entrepreneurship offers a way to achieve this. Based on the analysis of progress in Enterprise Europe including the SME package, the Green Paper poses essential questions on how to produce more entrepreneurs and how to get more European firms to grow. According to the report, 'If Europe can provide a constantly improving environment for its small businesses and stimulate and exploit its entrepreneurial potential, then its future competitiveness will be much more assured'.

The Green Paper identifies three pillars for action:

• Bringing down barriers to business development and growth
• Balancing the risks and rewards of entrepreneurship
• A society that values entrepreneurship

The European Commission is encouraging all interested stakeholders to provide their reactions to the Green Paper before the end of June 2003 and a special conference on the way forward for entrepreneurship policy will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece on 13 February 2003.

Links:
European Commission:
	21.01.03:	European Commission urges focus on Small and Medium Sized Enterprises [IP/03/98]
	21.01.03:	Press Release: Commission launches initiative to boost entrepreneurship in Europe[IP/03/87]
	DG Enterprise: SME Package - Thinking Small in An Enlarged Europe
	DG Enterprise: Green Paper: Entrepreneurship in Europe
European Association of Craft, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises:
	Homepage
	Press Release: UEAPME urges Italian Government to implement Charter for Small Business and adopt SME friendly actions during its presidency in 2003 [December 2002]
European Sources Online: In Focus
	More support for SMEs, October 2000
European Sources Online: Topic Guides
	Enterprise Policy

Helen Bower

Compiled: Thursday, 23 January 2003

In order to achieve the growth of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union the European Commission is calling on Member States to focus more on SMEs in their policy making and to take measures to boost entrepreneurship.