SME relief package - Related Opinions

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are vital to the European economy but often encounter significant administrative and regulatory challenges that hinder their participation in EU programmes.
By looking at the challenges encountered by SMEs, the EESC Opinion focuses on identifying the simplification changes needed to make real and tangible improvements for SMEs. This could include looking at how to increases their involvement in EU initiatives that offer access to finance, innovation opportunities, and essential networks, thereby fostering their growth, competitiveness, and long-term success.

The opinion analyses the legislative proposal on the EU Business Wallet  which aims at enabling secure digital identification, data sharing and legally valid notifications across the EU. Its purpose is to help economic operators manage regulatory requirements, cut administrative burdens and compliance costs. By ensuring interoperability with national systems, it also aims at supporting cross-border business, boosting SME competitiveness, fostering trust in digital interactions and advancing the EU’s digital single market.

The opinion focuses on the legislative proposals package "Omnibus IV" whose measures aim at cutting red tape for small-mid caps and modernising EU rules as regards digitalisation and common specifications.

The opinion examines how regulatory simplification and the integration of digital tools in law-making can enhance the legislative process. It looks into how innovative, technology-driven solutions can reduce administrative burdens and foster a more business-friendly environment across Europe.

Strengthening SMEs' competitiveness in the EU, especially vis-à-vis companies from outside Europe, is not possible without reducing excessive regulatory burdens, including the reduction of reporting obligations. The problem of overregulation of EU law, especially in comparison with other parts of the world, has been repeatedly pointed out by organisations representing European entrepreneurs. The opinion aims at identifying the reasons for introducing excessive regulatory burdens in EU law and the areas that restrain SMEs' competitiveness the most. The opinion analyses the impact of the new sustainability reporting obligations (both those already introduced and those planned) on the SMEs' competitiveness, by indicating the actual benefits of this process.

EU rules on late payments have triggered a reduction in payment delays. However, still more than 60% of businesses in the EU are not paid on time and small and medium-sized enterprises are most affected. The initiative will provide relief to SMEs by revising existing EU payment rules based on available and upcoming evidence to promote a definitive shift towards a culture of “prompt payment".

Improving Micro Small and Medium Enterprises’ (MSMEs) financial resilience is crucial to avoid unnecessary bankruptcies, loss of jobs and mitigate the impact of the past, ongoing and future crisis.

Europea Economic and Social Committee's opinion on Modern Business Responsibility – Avenues for Elevating MSMEs Ability for Successful Transformation (own-initiative opinion).

This own initiative opinion intends to explore the role of business transfers in the sustainable recovery and growth in European SME sector and how the business transfers could be further promoted and facilitated at the European level. There is a need to accelerate concrete follow-up actions for the promotion of business transfers, which is also one of the action points of the recent EU SME Strategy. It is crucial to raise awareness of the potential that business transfers have to the economic growth and the SME sector.

This opinion will assess the chances and challenges that SMEs face due to the green transition and will call the EU and the Member States to provide them with a favourable business environment, proper funding and support measures.

The EESC adopted unanimously in September 2020 the opinion "SME strategy". Amongst its main conclusions were the plead to the Commission to draw up a "Next Generation SME Strategy". Unfortunately, in its 2021 Work Program, the European Commission chose to commit to an update of the Industrial, but not of the SME Strategy. The objectives of this follow-up opinion are the following: present the SME position on how to channel in the best way the unprecedented financial support, coming from the MFF 2021-2027, Next Generation EU and Recovery and Resilience Facility Mechanism; identify and respond to the difficulties SMEs face when accessing the single market and generate ideas on how to use the COVID-19 crisis as a driver for change and catalyst of the transition of the SMEs towards sustainable and digital economy.