The proposals from the EU's assembly for local and regional
politicians, which were adopted on 8 October, include an adjustment in
the definition of a small and medium-sized business, eased access to
larger EU funding, and a pro-business model of partnership that pays
greater attention to the local and regional dimension.
The opinion – entitled "
Contribution from regions and cities towards a new EU policy
framework for SMEs
" – expands on a resolution adopted in June 2019, in which the CoR
called for the new Commission, which should come into office in
November, to "increase SME capacity to innovate, operate across borders
and adapt to new economic models" and to strengthen "the SME dimension
in EU policy-making". The recommendations were drafted by
Tadeusz Truskolaski
(PL/EA), a mayor of the Polish city of Białystok and former economist
who has written two previous opinions on the EU's support for small
business.
Mr Truskolaski said: "The EU's decade-old Small Business Act was a
breakthrough and the outgoing Commission has made some important
contributions, including making it easier for SMEs to access public
money markets and by ensuring there is a strong regional and local
dimension to the
Enterprise Europe Network
. But we need to fill the remaining gaps and respond to new
developments, including growing expectations about the role of small
business in the transition to a socially and environmentally
sustainable economy. Overall, the single market is a success story for
the EU, but we are a long way from a single market that truly works for
SMEs. I am therefore very glad that Commission President-elect
Ursula von der Leyen
has proposed a new SME strategy, including a greater focus on SME
digitisation."
He continued: "At the moment, we are seeing an economic polarisation of
EU regions, because larger businesses – many of them concentrated in
national economic centres – are growing faster than small businesses.
So, strengthening SME policies will help the European economy to become
more socially fair and inclusive. Local and regional authorities, SMEs
and their associations should have a more active role in shaping and
coordinating EU policies. This reflects the need, in our view, to
prioritise local and regional thinking, with a national and
international focus coming at a later stage. Overall, we should support
small businesses to scale up and innovate from the moment they enter
the local market to when they join the global market."
The CoR's opinion calls for the increase in the level of funding of the
EU
Single Market Programme
. "EU investment in small businesses – and, more generally, in
completing the single market – pays big financial and social dividends
for regions across the EU," said Mr Truskolaski, "and small businesses
are also crucial players in the emergence of the circular economy in
Europe." He added that, in his region of eastern Poland, there are
clusters of competitive and innovative businesses active in
medical-equipment production, textiles and software that have benefited
from the EU's help.
As well as calling for a bigger budget for the development of the
single market, the CoR argues that the EU's structural and investment
funds should be tailored to support SMEs and micro-entrepreneurship
across a variety of programmes. It urges the European Commission to
streamline ways for SMEs to access EU funds and to develop programmes
that would help build up capacity to support a business-friendly
environment.
The CoR also argues for a revision of the definition of 'SMEs'
currently in use at EU level, to benefit medium-sized enterprises
(companies employing up to 500 people). It argues that medium-sized
enterprises are "structurally very comparable" to SMEs (companies with
fewer than 250 employees) "and yet do not get preferential treatment
over large enterprises".
Noting that small businesses in the EU are wary about trading across
borders and about applying for public-service contracts, the opinion
suggests that assigning bonus points to companies of local and regional
origin could encourage more bids by small businesses. On 9 October, the
CoR devoted a separate
opinion
to public procurement. That opinion, by
Thomas Habermann
(DE/EPP), was based on feedback from a
network of 36 EU regions
, from Alejento in Portugal to Mazovia in Poland.
In the new European Commission, responsibility for SME policy is
currently expected to rest with three people: Margrethe Vestager,
Executive Vice-President for 'Europe Fit for Digital Age' and
Commissioner for Competition; Valdas Dombrovskis, Executive
Vice-President for 'An Economy that Works for People' and Commissioner
for Financial Services; and Sylvie Goulard, Commissioner for the
Internal Market.
Contact:
Andrew Gardner
Tel. +32 473 843 981
andrew.gardner@cor.europa.eu