Family Business

Key points

The EESC calls for:

• an active strategy promoting best practices on family businesses among Member States to be implemented;
• preparation of a legal framework on family businesses, which would include a commonly acceptable definition of a family business;
• a family business category to be included in European statistics and national data on family business to be gathered in an effective way;
• better regulation on the transfer of family businesses from one generation to the next;
• the family organisational climate and innovation among family firms to be promoted;
• education to be developed and research promoted in the area of family entrepreneurship;
• family farms to be supported and cooperative-based entrepreneurship redeveloped;
• tax deductions to be introduced on reinvested profits, and opportunities for family businesses to increase their capital without granting voting rights;
• active cooperation at EU level with organisations representing family businesses.

Other relevant EESC opinions:

• Small Business Act (INT/445)
• Diverse forms of enterprise (INT/447)
• Review of the "Small Business Act" (INT/573)

 For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat