Promote more growth and jobs with horizontal EU SME policies!

EU employers’ organisations call for an overhaul of the Small Business Act (SBA) to better accommodate the needs of Europe’s more than 21 million SMEs, which have created 85 % of new jobs in the past five years.

The Small Business Act “should be revived” and the needs of SMEs must be taken into account in all EU policies by applying the “Think Small First” and “Only Once” principles which help to reduce red tape and combat “over-implementation” or gold-plating the initiatives, according to delegates attending the SME Round Table on 5 April, organised by the Employers’ Group of the European Economic and Social Committee.  The discussion took place in Brussels with EU Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs Elżbieta Bieńkowska in attendance.

In a joint declaration, representatives of major EU employers’ organisations (BUSINESSEUROPE, UEAPME, EUROCHAMBRES, EuroCommerce, Copa-Cogeca and CEEP) called for a reinforced EU SME policy and SME Action Plan to reinvigorate the SBA – ensuring it is governed, monitored and implemented more efficiently – and energise national SME policies. They identified a number of priorities that must be addressed, such as promoting entrepreneurship, completion of the Single Market, improving access to finance for SMEs and facilitating trade, including access to non-EU markets. “SMEs need a business and regulatory environment that is future-proof and encourages innovation and investment instead of stifling it,” noted the joint declaration.

The opportunities emerging from digitalisation as well as the importance of matching workers’ skills and competences with SME needs were also listed among important factors influencing the competitiveness of smaller businesses.

The participants of the Round Table drew attention to the fact that SMEs are not homogenous; policies should be better targeted, fit-for-purpose and adequately respond to the differences between “solopreneurs”, micro, small and medium-sized companies and family businesses as well as start-ups.

“SMEs are major jobs and growth generators in Europe and their further growth is crucial for the European economy. By organising the Round Table, we wanted to draw the attention of policy-makers to the variety of challenges that SMEs are facing and to propose concrete measures to improve their business environment,” said Jacek Krawczyk, President of the EESC Employers’ Group.

He underlined that both EU and national employers’ organisations are eager to cooperate more closely with the European Commission to make sure that legislation responds to business needs, especially smaller firms which are the beating heart of growth and jobs in the Union.

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What future for EU SME Policy?
Joint Declaration on a horizontal EU SME policy – SME Round Table