European SMEs and international trade. Workshop

According to the Europe 2020 flagship Communication on an Integrated Industrial Policy and the review of the Small Business Act, supporting the internationalization process of the European SMEs is crucial in promoting EU competitiveness. Recent data shows that 85% of new jobs in the EU, between 2002 and 2010, were created by SMEs. However, a very small percentage of SMEs is active beyond the Single Market, inspite of rapidly growing market opportunities abroad.

The partipants of the workshop considered what might be the best policies supporting SMEs in accessing third markets and whether a better coordination between national and EU-level initiatives might be needed and how this should be accomplished.