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THE EUROPEAN COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS

realises that since the presentation of the SME Strategy, the world has changed significantly. The economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to strongly impact all regions and SMEs in Europe. But the crisis should also be seen as an historic opportunity to align the economic recovery with the standards of the Green Deal, sustainability and digitalisation, which must be integral to any SME strategy;

- A recovery plan for SMEs must be delivered with local and regional authorities in the lead, to be responsive to the diverse needs of SMEs and the varying economic and institutional conditions across Europe;

- urges the Commission to monitor whether the impact of emergency support measures does not undermine its ambition to create a level playing field for SMEs;

- draws the attention to the fact that more than 60% of SMEs are not paid on time which is one of the main causes of SME bankruptcies. Therefore calls for the proper implementation of the Late Payment Directive and welcomes the proposed monitoring and enforcement tool;

- shares the Commission's view on diversity amongst SMEs, but believes, however, that this diversity is insufficiently operationalised in the proposed measures;

- stresses that SME policies should place more priority on involving established SMEs and addressing their needs including adaptation to new technologies, business transfers, internationalisation, access to finance and professionalisation of management and reporting. Existing one-stop-shops strongly embedded in regional ecosystems should be used as access points for providing locally accessible services for SMEs, including advice on a wide range of programmes, measures and funding instruments originating from the EU, national and regional level.

- calls upon the Commission to improve its SME test during the impact assessment of proposed regulations, in line with the "think small first" principle;

- calls on to the Commission to improve the horizontal coordination of the SME strategy, thereby enhancing the impact of the strategy on the allocation of the European Structural and Investment Funds in the 2021-2027 period.