Europees Economisch en Sociaal Comité
The main SME instruments, in particular two programmes - COSME and the SME Instrument - were the main subject of the exchange of views between the category members and Mr Julien Guerrier, the Director of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME).
Lack of awareness, underdeveloped infrastructure, high investment costs as well as skills shortages and mismatches – these are some of the challenges that SMEs are facing when trying to benefit from the digital revolution. The participants of the conference "How to support businesses in the digital age – SMEs go digital" tried to identify potential obstacles and propose solutions to address them in the future. The event took place on 24 October 2018 in Vienna, Austria.
Stakeholders stressed the importance of cohesion policy and the need for appropriate and effective funding
The EU crowdfunding framework proposed by the European Commission will help to build a capital markets union, foster innovation and support entrepreneurs and SMEs across the EU, says the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) in a recently adopted opinion, which strongly supports the Commission's proposals. The proposed regulatory framework – a 29th regime, to exist in parallel with the 28 national regimes – will allow small, young and innovative enterprises in particular to strive for financing in all EU Member States.
While the risk of cyber attacks is growing, most European companies are still unprepared and unaware of the risk. This was highlighted in a recent study commissioned by the European Economic and Social Committee. Small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) are the most exposed, as they often cannot afford to invest adequately in cybersecurity. The level of investment in cybersecurity overall is insufficient. Most businesses do not realise its importance until after experiencing a security breach.
Brexit, the next EU budget and the future of the single market are the core interests of the European employers' organisations. On 14 March 2018, representatives of BusinessEurope, EuroChambres and CEEP presented the priorities of their organisations for 2018 and discussed the issues with the members of the employers' group.
The Commission's proposal on industrial policy is a step in the right direction, but the EU needs a long term, comprehensive strategy: this is one of the conclusions of the debate at the Employers' Group meeting on 6 December 2017. The aim of the debate was to contribute to two opinions on industrial policy that the EESC is currently working on.
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of the European economy and have a huge potential to contribute to its development. Acknowledging that, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) is actively pushing ....
The proposal for a European Pillar of Social Rights published by the European Commission elicited a critical first reaction from the secretaries general of UEAPME, EUROCHAMBRES and CEEP. Véronique Willems, Arnaldo Abruzzini and Valeria Ronzitti participated in the Employers' Group meeting to discuss their organisations' current priorities.
The condition of the European economy, completing the Single Market, trade and Brexit – these are the top issues for European employers' organisations in the forthcoming months. On 29 March 2017, the Directors-General and Secretaries-General of BusinessEurope, EuroCommerce and Copa-Cogega presented their priorities and debated with the members of the EESC Employers' Group.
