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About us Members Working Groups Documents Newsletters Events Stagiaire Program SME Circle Press Releases SME Marketplace EP elections 2009 Events No events found Contact SME UNION 22 Rue de Pascale 1040 Bruxelles Tel : (+32) 2 233 38 38 Fax : (+32) 2 230 92 18 E-mail sme@sme-union.eu	If business goes well - all are well! The main objective of the SME UNION is to shape EU policy and legislation in a more SME friendly way and to support our member organizations all over Europe. We implement this SME agenda in close cooperation with the SME Circle of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament, our good contacts to the European Commission and to the EPP member parties all over Europe. The SME UNION members decided for the Topic of the Year 2009 that will concentrate on "Creative SMEs as key drivers for innovation and growth: New solutions for the energy challenge!". This subject was chosen because the European Union needs innovation and competitiveness to grow stronger and SMEs have a key role to play. 2009 will be a year full of chances and challenges. With elections in the European Parliament in June, within our organization and at the European People’s Party, we will face new challenges coming up next year. Following our Topic of the Year 2009 "Creative SMEs as key driver for innovation and growth", we will join forces yet again with our task force in the European Parliament, the SME Circle, to lobby for the best legal framework conditions for European SMEs. We are convinced that all the work that has been done until now has been crucial for the creation of an SME friendly world. Entrepreneurs have to be supported and their role promoted. The European economy depends on all of us! We can achieve this goal by reinforcing SMEs and modeling for them a framework that eliminates administrative, financial and market burdens. We, the SME UNION, the business organization of the EPP, will not rest until those challenges will be met. If business goes well - all are well! Strong EPP will help Europe to emerge stronger from the crisis SME UNION congratulates the European People's Party who has successfully defended its position as the leading party of Europe. Politics don't create jobs, it is the entrepreneurial spirit of the people that do so. Politics create the economic, fiscal and logistic environment in which entrepreneurial initiative can prosper.European businessmen have voted for the EPP because it is fighting for: less and better regulation, lower prices and fighting inflation, more funding on regional level for regional SMEs, lower taxes and simpler tax systems trough tax competition, open markets for an open society, better financing for SMEs. This is the understanding of the role politics have to play by the European People's Party after registering a big success in the European Parliament elections 2009. Read SME UNION Press Release SME UNION sets up 12 priorities for upcoming Swedish EU Council Presidency The SME UNION, the business organization of the European People’s Party, has set up 12 priorities for the upcoming Swedish EU Council Presidency. “The Swedish Presidency will still have to deal with the consequences of the financial and economic crisis but it will also have to focus on other upcoming European issues like the formulation of a new Lisbon Strategy for Jobs and Growth after 2010”, emphasized SME UNION President Christoph Leitl. Please click for the 12 Priorities The SME UNION is confident that the Swedish Presidency will lead the EU in a proper way and hopes it will create an economic environment in which entrepreneurial initiatives of SMEs can prosper. The SME UNION has therefore sent a letter to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt with the 12 priorities it considers crucial to help European SMEs to overcome the current crisis and to emerge even stronger. Read the SME UNION Press Release EPP - The best choice for SMEs in Europe! 9 good reasons why entrepreneurs will vote for the European Peoples Party for the European Parliamentary Elections 2009 Politics don’t create jobs, it is the entrepreneurial spirit of the people that do so. Politics create the economic, fiscal and logistic environment in which entrepreneurial initiative can prosper. This is the understanding of the role politics have to play by the European People’s Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament. Below you find the nine reasons why European businessmen will vote for the EPP for the 7 June 2009 Parliamentary Elections. 1. Less and better regulation The European People´s Party and its business organization, the SME UNION, strongly fight against bureaucratic burdens for business. The SME UNION Working Group hammered out within a few months valid and concrete measures pushing the Commission, Parliament and Member States to act. 2. Lower prices and fighting inflation As the EPP has always been in favor of the opening up of national markets, it strongly believes in the effects of free competition bringing down prizes in various areas like internet access, air travel, postal services, energy markets and telecommunication costs (e.g. roaming costs). 3. More funding on regional level EPP calls for the provision of grants and subsidies on a regional level. SMEs will contribute more from that system than from individual company grants. Programmes such as JEREMIE which provides the framework for a series of coherent financial actions to improve the financial environment for small businesses and CIP that aims to support the competitiveness of European enterprises provide better access to finance for SMEs and deliver business support services in the regions. In order to support start-ups, the SME UNION proposes a SME Guarantee Fund that works similar to the SME Guarantee facility of the European Investment Fund (EFI) and provides counter-guarantees to national and regional guarantee institutions offering guarantees to start-up companies. 4. Lower taxes and simpler tax systems trough tax competition The EPP considers tax competition not a race to the bottom, but a mean to bring the companies and people of a country on top. It has always called for tax cuts in every field. We firmly consider that the tax systems have to be reformed in such a way as to make it possible for SMEs to build up long-term equity, and not have this swallowed up by overly rigid tax systems, and to have facilitated access to capital for newcomers by doing away with discriminatory tax regimes. We aim for a simplified European tax systems in order to make it more transparent and understandable to taxpayers. 5. Open markets for an open society The EPP is the party of free market society and considers entrepreneurial freedom a fundamental principle. We therefore campaign not only for further improvements within the European Single Market but also want to ease trade and exports to third markets. Moreover, the EPP and its business organization, the SME UNION, promote the Erasmus program for Entrepreneurs. EPP and SME UNION strongly believe in a more flexible labor market and life-long learning. We must improve work force mobility and reduce all costs, including the costs on labor. 6. Better financing for SMEs The Models we consider to be most helpful for SMEs are microcredits, venture capital and mezzanine capital market as well as EIB funds available at regional level. One big success of the last year was the increase of the de-minimis-threshold from EUR 100.000 to 200.000 enabling easy, quick and unbureaucratic help for SMEs. 7. Boost entrepreneurial spirit The EPP believes that the only way of keeping an economy dynamic is to encourage more people to become self employed. We therefore strive for provision introducing entrepreneurial skills in schools and universities and abolition of any obstacles faced by people when starting up a business. 8. Support women entrepreneurs Including more women in the labor market and supporting them to develop their own businesses by providing them better access to finance and social networks is one of the EPP priorities and dealt with in EPP Women and SME Women working groups. 9. Tackling the energy challenges High energy prices and the ambitious EU targets on CO2 reduction, renewable and cleaner energy as well as energy efficiency goals are especially affecting small and medium sized entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, especially for SMEs, immense business opportunities could open up in these new markets. The EPP helps to translate the challenges into opportunities that the transition to a ‘low carbon economy’ could offer. The SME UNION welcomed and lobbied for environment-related State aids which will support especially small and medium sized companies for their investments. The SME UNION of the EPP urges the EU to set up an intelligent strategy in order to avoid de-industrialization, but to continue with de-carbonization. As regards the emission trading system a good solution would be the setting up of a best practice benchmark model giving no additional burdens to companies which use high technical environmental standards. The SME UNION as business organization of the European People's Party, already established years ago a separate internal Working Group called “SME Energy”, which deals exactly with these problems. For further information please consult: EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament Dialogue TV of the EPP EPP - The best choice for SMEs in Europe! 2009-05-12/14, Prague, SME UNION Conference and Presidency during SME Week in Prague The SME Union Czech Republic in cooperation with the Czech Chamber of Commerce, the Polish Chamber of Commerce, the Austrian Chamber of Commerce, EUROCHAMBRES and the SME UNION organized 2-Day-Event in the Golden City of Prague from the 12th of May until the 14th of May 2009.The conference was held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel Prague containing a fruitful and high ranking cast discussing the topic “Chances& Challenges for European SMEs in Times of Economic Crisis with special focus on the CEE region”.The SME UNION Programme continued with the Presidency meeting, and finished with a guided tour of the city of Prague. The SME UNION delegation took part at the 16th EUROCHAMBRES Congress on "Doing Business without Barriers" and to the European Enterprise Awards Ceremony. SME UNION looks back at successful 2008 “The business organization of the EPP has been very dynamic in 2008. Facing new challenges and especially the worsening of the international and European economic framework conditions, we had to work even harder to support our members and our SMEs” stated SME UNION President Christoph Leitl at the end of this working year. Furthermore he highlighted some of our successes: Increase of “de-minimis-limit” big success for European SMEs SME UNION shaped SBA content SME “Low” Level Group proposals partially implemented SME UNION and EIB tackle financial crisis SME UNION welcomes climate package compromise Stronger organization with 3 new members 2009 – full of chances and challenges “With elections in the European Parliament in June, within our organization and at the European People’s Party, we will face new challenges coming up next year. Following our Topic of the Year 2009 ´Creative SMEs as key driver for innovation and growth´, we will join forces yet again with our task force in the European Parliament, the SME Circle, to lobby for the best legal framework conditions for European SMEs” expressed Christoph Leitl. Yes we could – thanks to French Presidency President Leitl addressed his congratulations for the most diligent and important work that the French EU Council Presidency has realized during the past 6 months is extended by the SME UNION. During this time, the European Union has had to face many obstacles that threaten Europe’s security and stability. “Their leadership and strong willingness in showing that Europe is strong and that it can overcome any obstacle showed us that it was possible and that it only depends on us to climb up the mountain. European citizens were able to trust in the EU and the EU leaders again” underlined the SME UNION President. The SME UNION entertains excellent relations with our members of UMP France. In a matter of facts, our friends of the SME Union France, represented by President Jean Marie Virepinte, by Secretary General Patrick Moulin and MEP Alain Lamassoure, were once again crucial partners to our work and to our fight for a SME friendly environment. “Thus, so much of what we do depends on developing constructive and valuable personal relationships – with our members, the Members of the European Parliament, the members of the business community, with European institutions and media who we thank for all their support in 2008” concluded SME UNION President Christoph Leitl. Leitl on SME UNION Successes 2008 SME UNION meets President Gul and PM Erdogan The SME UNION of the EPP together with TUSKON (Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey) organized end of May, Wednesday 28 May until Sunday 1 June a four day visit to Turkey meeting high level politicians. On Wednesday 28 May the delegation of the Turkey Trip arrived in Ankara and on Thursday 29 May they met the main policy makers of today’s Turkey. Firstly, they had a meeting with Abdullah Gul, President of the Republic of Turkey who talked about the relations between Turkey and the EU and the importance of SMEs. The third meeting was with Rifat Hisarcikoglu, President of TOBB (Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey) who emphasized that sixty percent of exports of Turkish companies go to the EU. Another highlight of the delegation was a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, who discussed the EU membership process of Turkey. Annual SME UNION Topic of the Year Conference and Political Entrepreneurship Awards 2008 On 13 October 2008 SME UNION of the EPP organized its Political Bureau and Topic of the Year Conference. At the SME UNION’s annual Topic of the Year Conference, SME UNION President Christoph Leitl handed this year’s SME UNION Political Entrepreneurship Awards over to Philippe Maystadt, President of the European Investment Bank, and to Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment for their extraordinary efforts to support SMEs and to make the Small Business Act (SBA) a valid success. President Leitl underlined that the SME UNION contributed extensively from the beginning to the input of the SBA: “The European Small Business Act has the potential to completely change European SME policy. To make this happen, the SBA needs to be more than a replicating exercise of what already exists. It must become a politically binding act for the European Commission, Parliament and the Member States.” He also emphasized the need of a better dialog with EPP and EPP-ED representatives. The last meeting on Wednesday was with Mehmet Simsek, Minister of State in charge of economy, who gave an overview of the current impressive economic situation of Turkey. On Friday 30 May, the second day of the business trip, the delegation went to Gaziantep which is an economical center of South Eastern Turkey. Gaziantep, hometown for considerable amount of Kurds, is well known as a model for peaceful co-existence in Turkey. During the day, the delegation met with leading entrepreneurs from Gaziantep and visited the Museum of Zeugma and Industrial Area of Gaziantep. On Saturday 31 May, the third day of the business trip, the delegation went to Istanbul and met with Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Istanbul and Georges Marovitch, Vatican’s representative in Istanbul and visited Sultan Ahmet Mosque, Hagia Sophia Museum and Grand Bazaar. On Sunday 1 June, the last day of the business trip, the delegation had a Bosporus Yacht Trip with TUSKON Board before returning to Brussels. SME UNION General Assembley in Vienna On Monday, 23 June the SME UNION of the EPP held its annual General Assembly in the capital of Austria, Vienna, by invitation of the Austrian SME Union Wirtschaftsbund. The General Assembly took place from 16.30 to 18.00h and it was followed by an evening programme. The SME UNION Members decided on the 2009 electoral road map. Under the headline: "9 Good Reasons for 2009: If business goes well, all are well!", considering that politics create the economic, fiscal and logistic environment in which entrepreneurial initiative can prosper, the SME UNION Members proposed nine reasons why European businessmen will vote for the EPP for the 7 June 2009 Parliamentary Elections. 9 Good Reasons for 2009 SME UNION President Leitl and EU Commissioner Verheugen agree on concrete proposals to address concerns of SMEs in three months, not in three years The SME UNION, the business organization of the EPP, urges the European Commission to propose a Small Business Act (SBA) in order to provide binding guidelines and provisions tailored especially for SMEs and the “Think Small First” principle should be a guiding principle in all relevant legislation and law-making. Leitl and Verheugen also discussed the progress made in the fight against red tape: To support and stimulate the Commission’s „High Level Expert Group” for Better Regulation, the SME UNION together with EUROCHAMBRES and Jade - has set up a „Low” Level Group of real entrepreneurs. More information
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