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| Newsletter March/April 2007 |
| Foreword |
| Upcoming Events |
| Service & Information |
| Latest events |
| SME Lex |
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Dear Members of the SME UNION, dear friends of SMEs!
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Celebrating 50 years EU – Courageous future debate needed
On Sunday 25 March our European Union celebrated her 50th birthday. 50 years of the European success story lie behind us. Especially for business the creation of the single market and the steady enlargement of markets was a huge boost for the European economy. In our SME UNION Press Release you could read about our thoughts for the future of the Union. We underline that it is possible and necessary to promote the concept of an economic community, its completion, and further members after deepening our current Union. At the same time let those Member States who want to move towards a partial consolidation do so, leaving the option for others to join in later. The examples of the Euro zone or the Schengen agreement are examples that this combination works well breaking deadlocks and moving forward.
Not less, but more Europe
Raising the glass to the European Union’s 50th birthday we should have its 60th birthday already in mind: A strong free-trade oriented Europe possibly including Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Turkey, Ukraine, Moldova and the Balkans, but therein embedded a deepened political Union of countries who have the willingness and ability to do so. We need courageous action instead of faintheartedness. The time for mini-compromises, mini-solutions and mini-treaties is over. A re-start is needed. It is a matter of survival, for Europe and its economy. We do not need less, but more Europe. The day of the 50 years celebration of the EU manifested the beginning of this necessary discussion about our future.
CSR, roaming prices and access to SME finance
February and March marked a very busy time for our organisation. With the SME Circle the SME UNION discussed possibilities to lower roaming prices in favour for SMEs. Another working breakfast was organized in the European Parliament on the topic of Corporate Social Responsibility under the aspects of further red tape or chances for SMEs. Our debate positively influenced the outcome of the European Parliament voting of the CSR report in favour of small businesses. Moreover, a special half day conference on the SME situation in the new Member States was held in Brussels with a lot of important conclusions, especially on access to finance.
SME UNION strengthens relations to Portugal and Moldova
Furthermore, our organization could strengthen its ties with our SME Union in Portugal and Moldova via working visits to the PSD Party in Lisbon and PPCD Party in Chisinau.
General Assembly in Berlin 11 May
The next big event of the SME UNION will be our General Assembly on Friday 11 May in Berlin to prepare our organization for the upcoming years. Please find more information about all these topics in this Newsletter. We wish you a joyful reading and look forward to seeing you at our next events.
Press release: 50 years EU |
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2007-04-16, Stuttgart, 4th European Conference on Craft and Small Enterprises
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The European Commission is hosting a conference on crafts and small enterprises on 16 and 17 April 2007 in Stuttgart. The 4th European Conference on Craft and Small Enterprises will focus on the following key topics: skills for the future, developing markets and improving the business environment for small enterprises.
Programme |
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2007-04-25/26, Sofia, International Bioenergy Forum for South-East Europe
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The international bioenergy forum will be held in Sofia, Bulgaria on 25 and 26 April 2007 and will focus on offering solutions for deploying the still unexploited biomass resources for production of energy in south-east Europe. It is aimed at companies and SMEs wishing to invest in a new energy source, CO2 emission traders, industrial companies, farmers, government bodies and researchers among others. The event will be accompanied by networking events and will be held in parallel to the International Exhibition on Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Sources.
Further Information |
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2007-05-03, Brussels, Responsible Entrepreneurship Exchange
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The European Commission organizes the first Responsible Entrepreneurship Exchange – an innovative event bringing together high level representatives from the worlds of entrepreneurship, SMEs and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to ask how the Commission can help more small businesses to integrate social and environmental issues.
Agenda
Further information |
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2007-06-04/05, Berlin, Conference on the European Charter for Small Enterprises
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On the 4 and 5 June 2007 the German Presidency and the European Commission will organise a conference in Berlin on the Charter for Small Enterprises. The conference is open to all countries participating in the Charter process and aims to stipulate an exchange of best practice experiences in small business policy.
Agenda |
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2007-06-05 Working Breakfast: European Mechanical Engineering - Keeping this European SME Industry the World Champion
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On Tuesday, 5 June 2007 a Working Breakfast on "European Mechanical Engineering: Keeping this European SME Industry the World Champion" will be organized by the SME UNION and Orgalime (The European Engineering Industries Association). The working breakfast will feature speakers like Paul Rübig MEP, Adrian Harris, Secretary General Orgalime, Malcolm Harbour MEP and Pablo Ortun, DG Enterprise from the European Commission. The Working Breakfast will take place in the European Parliament from 08:00-09:30h.
Invitation |
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2007-05-11, Berlin, SME UNION General Assembly 2007
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The SME UNION of the EPP in cooperation with the German SME Union MIT (Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsvereinigung der CDU/CSU) will hold the SME UNION General Assembly 2007 in Berlin on Friday 11th May. The General Assembly will take place 13.00-16.00h at the premises of the German Ministry of Economy, Room Eichensaal, Scharnhorststr 34-37, 10115 Berlin. The main point on the agenda will be the election of the SME UNION Presidency Team for the next two years. Further information about the entire program, including high-level meetings with representatives of the German Presidency, for all the delegates will follow. |
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Service & Information |
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European Union SME Support Programmes
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As a further initiative to support SMEs in Europe, the European Union published a document which provides an overview about the main funding opportunities available to European SMEs. The document contains information about the different forms of support like grants, loans and guarantees as well as the main web sites for each programme. Especially four categories are named: funding, structural funds, financial instruments and support for the internationalization of SMEs. Attached you can also find the comprehensive report of the SME UNION which breaks down EU funding opportunities to the national level and also includes the responsible persons with their contact details.
Download Commission Overview
SME UNION Report: How to finance SMEs in the European Union |
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Call for tenders for a study about Role and Impact of SMEs in Energy Research
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The European Union has given prior information of a call for tenders for a study about the role of SMEs in energy research framework programme projects.
Further Information |
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SMEs and standardisation in Europe
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The European Commission published a study SMEs involvement in the standard setting process within the European Union. The Study outlines that by then, SMEs are rarely involved in this process, are often unaware of standards and thus often profit insufficiently from existing standards. The aim of this study was to elaborate measures which lead to a better involvement of SMEs in this context. 23 good practices and several recommendations are listed in the study mostly relating to seminars or workshops raising awareness of this important topic for SMEs.
SMEs and standardisation in Europe
Further information |
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European Commission outlines plan to boost research on energy efficient technologies
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In the framework of the EU Energy Law and Policy Conference on 25 January 2007, Commissioner Andris Piebalgs pointed out that Europe needs to profit from its commitment to deal with climate change in the future. Europe has the chance to build up an innovative sector dealing with energy efficient and low carbon technologies which consequently could develop enormous job and export opportunities in the European Union. To achieve this ambitious plan, the European strategic energy technology plan set clear targets and objectives for the energy research and technology including topics like biofuels and offshore wind parks.
Speech of Commissioner Andris Piepalgs |
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European Commission Report about United States Barriers to Trade and Investment
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In February 2007 the European Commission presented a report which identifies the key trade and investment barriers in the United States. These barriers need to be addressed to increase the exchange of goods, services and investment from the European Union to the USA. The Commission stresses that now it is time to end some disputes and thus to tackle the obstacles which impede economic growth in the European Union as well as in the US. The report provides some useful statistics and draws the attention to specific areas and topics which need to be considered: tariff barriers, non-tariff barriers, investment related measures, intellectual property rights and services. The European Commission stands up for eliminating the existing obstacles to trade and investment in the US market constructively through bilateral, multilateral and plurilateral channels.
Report |
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New Eurostat Report on SMEs and Entrepreneurship
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Eurostat offers a new publication on SMEs and Entrepreneurship which summarises the role of SMEs in the European economy. The report shows how important SMEs are for the European economy in terms of number, value-added and employment. In the report you find as well an analysis about the differences in labour productivity and recent gains/losses in employment. Included is a comparison with the SME situation in the US and other important aspects dealing with SMEs like self-employment and gender analysis.
Download Report |
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Croatia's new export strategy to boost SMEs
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Croatia's Prime Minister Ivo Sanader presented a new export strategy for 2007-2010 aiming to boost the croatian economy on the european and international market. The focus of this strategy is to set up six main export clusters - water, fish, textile, shipbuilding, forestry and communication technology. Further Sanader emphasized that Croatia should also start to export knowledge and skills. Its worth to mentioned that the new strategy will not interfere in the work of small entrepreneurs although production of more competitive products will be supported. The export strategy is placed within a framework of other economic laws which should strengthen the competition and export of Croation products. |
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Vision for a Strong Europe – EU Constitution Publication from Austrian Chamber of Commerce
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On the occasion of the 50 year anniversary of the European Union, the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber under its President Christoph Leitl published an EU Constitution Booklet named “Vision for a Strong Europe” which deals primarily with the future of the European Union. The booklet offers an overview about the ongoing reflection time concerning the Constitution and provides the different positions of the 27 member states on that topic. The objective of the future should be the creation of a strong and political Union of states, which is able and willing to deepen the European integration. In May 2007, there will be published an extended edition of the report.
Download publication here |
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SME UNION Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis on emission trading
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The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) has been acclaimed as the least costly way to help Member States meet their 2010 Kyoto targets for greenhouse gas emissions. Unfortunately, the emissions caps are often distributed without consideration for either the long-term growth of the European Union or true, sustainable global emissions reduction. Although the EU-27 looks likely to be successful in collectively reducing emissions in 2010 by eight percent from 1990, this may be happening at the expense of economic growth in some Member States. For example, Latvia, having the lowest per capita emissions in the EU-27 and having already me its Kyoto target, had agreements with several new projects whishing to start up in Latvia. Due to the recent Commission decision on Latvia’s National Allocation Plan, which allows less than half of the emissions proposed by Latvia, these projects are considering locations outside of the EU.
Such ambitious Commissions decisions, above and beyond Kyoto agreements, force new projects to leave countries for areas with less environmental regulation. This causes economic damage and loss of jobs in the EU as well as failing to reduce global emissions. Due to emissions occurring during production and transport of goods back to the EU, global emissions will actually be higher than if the Commission had allowed more reasonable emissions allowances. Even if the companies manage to stay in the EU, their increased costs will be passed onto their customers, many of which are small and medium enterprises that rely on these industries for their inventory and energy needs. Setting an example of environmental responsibility is beneficial, but the mistake can easily be made of merely shifting emissions away from Europe, instead of encouraging clean growth. Now, while setting and planning how to meet 2020 emissions targets, the spotlight should be on continuing to make the EU-ETS into a more effective, maintainable global emissions reduction strategy.
For further information please contact the office of Valdis Dombrovskis. |
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SME UNION congratulates Kokoomus Party for excellent election result
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Kokoomus, the Finnish EPP member party, was the real winner of the national parliamentary election in Finland of 18 March 2007. The party gained the most new seats among all parties and now has only one seat less than the Centre Party. The election brought also a surprise as for the first time in Finnish history, the Social Democrats are now only third strongest party in Finland. The SME UNION congratulate EPP Vice-President Jyrki Katainen, SME UNION Vice-President Piia-Noora Kauppi MEP and International Secretary Jori Arvonen for the pleasant election result they were all fighting for. |
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SME UNION Honorary President Ingo Friedrich MEP to receive SME Award
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We congratulate SME UNION Honorary President Ingo Friedrich MEP for being honored with the European SME Award 2007 as the first German laureate. In February, Ingo Friedrich received the Award on the continental scale in the framework of an event in Munich. The award was donated by the ‘Union Mittelständischer Unternehmen’. In the laudatio which was delivered by the German Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Michael Glos, Friedrich was appreciated for his long lasting efforts for European SMEs and his ambitions for a democratic and functioning European Union. Friedrich’s engagement for SMEs including his work and support for the SME UNION has contributed decisively to establish a great reputation defending the interests of Small and Medium-seized Enterprises in Europe. |
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Developing your SME in France
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As part of our network Omag consulting offers individual support for SMEs interested to implement their business on the French market by optimizing their daily activities. The range of services covers outsourcing and centralizing administration, advice on human resources as well as event management. If you want to conquer the French market and are looking for some professional advice you can find further information on the link below.
Further information |
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2007-02-27 SME Global Working Breakfast on Roaming Tariffs & SMEs: For an Improved Common Market
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Professional impulse statements, various opinions and a fruitful discussion lead to a common progress. After a short introduction Paul Rübig MEP, EP Rapporteur for Roaming Report, pointed out the importance of the change in roaming tariffs when facing 25 million SMEs in Europe. Furthermore he emphasized the need of transparency within the mobile communications business. Not only the fact that the EU faces approximately 6,400 bilateral agreements led Rudolf Strohmeier, Head of Cabinet Office of European ICT Commissioner Viviane Reding to the statement that we must not forget the protection of the consumer to ensure a clear overview over prices. |
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Frank Krüger, Telecom and ICT Attaché of German Permanent Representation stressed that the EU needs tariffs for all new contracts by default to reach common limits and consumer protection in a reasonable way. Gunnar Hökmark MEP, rapporteur on the Broadband Report noted the fact that neutrality plays an important role and highlighted the risks of any price regulation. The aim now is to create a more SME friendly framework for the common modulated mobile communication market. Finally on 8 March 2007 the EPP-ED hearing on the regulation on roaming took place at the parliament, representing one further milestone of the creation of a more common internal market.
Draft Report Roaming
Speech of Frank Krüger |
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2007-03-02, SME UNION Working Visit to PSD in Lisbon
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On Friday 2 March 2007 Secretary General of the SME UNION Patrick Voller followed an invitation of the Portuguese PSD Party which belongs to the EPP to a bi-lateral political SME exchange day in Lisbon. Voller visited the PSD headquarter and got together with Manuel Lancastre, Vice-President of PSD, Antonio Almeida Henriques, Vice-President of the Parliamentary Group of PSD and Duarte Pacheco, Secretary General of PSD accompanied by SME Union Portugal “veteran” Joao Kramer. |
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They had fruitful discussions about the SME UNION activities within the European Union and also developed further steps towards a closer cooperation between PSD, Portuguese associations and the SME UNION. All participants expressed their common objective to re-launch a entrepreneurship association within PSD. For lunch Patrick Voller met also the EPP Vice-President Mario David, close adviser of Commission President Barroso. |
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In the afternoon Patrick Voller met Vice-President of the Portuguese Industrial Association, Manuel Gamito. Topics like access to funding and labour laws were at the centre of their debate. To sum up, it was successful visit to Lisbon and offered new possibilities for a closer co-operation between the SME UNION and the PSD in order to enhance the Small and Medium-Seized Entrepreneurs in Portugal and in Europe. The SME UNION expresses its gratitude to Manuel Lacastre, who coordinated this visit. PSD invited the SME UNION family to come to Lisbon during the Portuguese Presidency at the second half of 2007. Details will follow. |
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2007-03-06, Working Breakfast on Corporate Social Responsibility: Further Red Tape or Chance for SMEs?
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On Tuesday 6 March, the SME UNION of the EPP and the European Association of Craft Small and Medium-seized Enterprises (UEAPME) organized a Working Breakfast in the European Parliament to discuss the report of the European Parliament on “Corporate Social Responsibility”. The moderator of the breakfast SME UNION Vice-President MEP Philip Bushill-Matthews and newly elected Coordinator of the EP Employment and Social Affairs Committee, started the meeting by emphasising that CSR should not be an instrument for strangling SMEs but a further opportunity to enable growth within European SMEs. |
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Impulse statements were delivered by Hans-Werner Müller, Secretary General of UEAMPE, Giuseppe Cacciato, Head of Unit CSR in DG Enterprise and Genevieve Besse, CSR Policy Director in the DG Employment. Hans-Werner Müller stressed that the aim of CSR has to be to generate a win-win situation for both – enterprises and employees – and CSR should remain on a voluntarily basis, as it now is. Giuseppe Cacciato gave an overview about the Commissions objectives in the field of CSR emphasizing that CSR is one of the policies which is not initiated by the European Institutions, but by the SMEs and companies themselves. The impulse statements were concluded by Genevieve Besse, who pointed out that the CSR approach should be closely linked with the Lisbon Strategy in order to generate more economic growth. |
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Philip Bushill-Matthews closed the speakers’ statements and concluded by saying:”The European Commission is on the side of European businesses and together with the SME UNION and the SME Circle we are a mighty force.”
Consolidated Report on CSR
Joint Statement of DIHK, ZDH and WKO
Statement UEAPME |
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2007-03-15, SME UNION Visit to Moldova
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From Thursday 15 until Saturday 17 March 2007, Patrick Voller followed the invitation of the Christian Democratic People’s Party (CDPP) of Moldova and rendered a visit to representatives in Chisinau on behalf of the SME UNION of the EPP. Main purpose of all meetings was the re-launch of the SME Union CDPP Moldova, reason why friends of the SME UNION and distinguished members of the party joined the discussions. The participants also included a delegation from PNTCD SME Union Romania and National Union of Romanian Employers (UNPR) consisting of Pavel Platona, Caius Iliescu and Martin Valentin. |
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The warm welcome by Iurie Rosca, Chairman of the CDPP and Deputy Speaker of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, was the proper opening for the high-level meetings that followed. Underlining once more the SME UNION’s full support of Rosca and his party for the upcoming regional elections was of great interest. Other highlights of this visit were the greeting by Vice-Chairmen Stefan Secareanu and Vlad Cubreacov, as well as Secretary General Ignat Vasilache in the CDPP Headquarter and the tour of the Parliament on Friday March 16, where the guests had the opportunity to discuss SME politics with 6 CDPP Members of Parliament, some already mentioned above. Angela Arama MP, Adriana Chiriac MP, Ion Varta MP and Tudor Cosulet, President of the Association Christian Democrat Mayors and Advisors were equally kind to receive the whole delegation. A more informal frame for further discussions was offered by the reception in the evening with CDPP businessmen in the restaurant “La Taifas”. |
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The Constituent Assembly of the CDPP SME Union Moldova on the following day encouraged not only the mentioned re-launch, but generated concrete ideas about future cooperation, after having focused on the current situation of SMEs in the country. Patrick Voller expressed his gratitude about the professional organization of this successful meeting to Vladimir Plamadeala, Lia Bejenaru and Constantin Vishku. His thanks were also addressed to all the participants attending this high-level event. |
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2007-03-19, Tunis, 3rd session of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly
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On 16 and 17 March 2007 the third session of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly took place in Tunis. The political foundation of the Mediterranean Dialogue is based both on the Barcelona Process which aims to strengthen the Partnership with the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly and on the European Neighborhood Policy. National Parliaments as well as 10 countries of the Mediterranean region agreed on several resolutions related to the peace process and the fight against terrorism. Othmar Karas as the leader of the Austrian People Party delegation and President of the SME Intergroup emphasized that a closer co-operation with the Mediterranean region needs to be enhanced as the complexity of the relations with this area increased in the last decade. Therefore Othmar Karas calls for a revival of the Barcelona Process which began 12 years ago and for enlarging the political cooperation beyond the economic part including also peace and stability, establishment of a free trade zone and a collaboration in social, cultural and humanitarian dimensions.
Further information |
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2007-03-27, Brussels, Conference on Challenges Facing SMEs in the New Member States
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On 27 March 2007 the SME UNION and ACCA, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, hosted a successful conference on “Challenges Facing SMEs in the New Member States” in the Hotel Renaissance in Brussels. The three panels on “Access to Growth Finance”, “Less and Better Regulation for Central and Eastern European countries” and “Access to EU funding” were attended by more than 80 participants with business and political background. The conference was opened by David Aitken-Davies, Vice-President of ACCA, Peter Jungen, Co-President of the SME UNION, Maive Rute, Director DG Enterprise and Zuzana Roithova, Czech MEP.
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The event featured high-level speakers from the European Parliament like Valdis Dombrovskis MEP, Vice-President of SME UNION, Alexander Radwan MEP, President of the SME Circle, Gay Mitchell MEP, Jan Brezina MEP, Jerzy Buzek MEP and former Polish Prime Minister and Also the European Commission was represented by Maive Rute, Director DG Enterprise, Jürgen Tiedje, Head of Unit Auditing, Piotr Madziar, Head of Unit Accounting and Christian Weinberger, Head of Unit Entrepreneurship. Jan Tombinski, ambassador of the Permanent Representation to the European Communities honored SME UNION and ACCA and closed the conference stressing the importance of SMEs to European economies and of their maintaining their independence from bigger companies. Closing the event, Allen Blewitt, Chief Executive ACCA referred to Hans-Werner Müller’s speech and said the far quicker compliance procedures in Singapore should act as a benchmark for Europe. |
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The conference was followed by a networking lunch in the European Parliament where Richard Aitken-Davies, Vice-President of ACCA and Paul Rübig MEP and President of SME Global provided their key note speeches. SME UNION Honorary President and founding father of SME UNION Ingo Friedrich actively participated and expressed his joy for over 10 years of an active and strong representation for SMEs in Europe. The participants showed great enthusiasm in the topic, as they participated in a vivid discussion.
ACCA-SME UNION Communiqué
ACCA Report: Enterprise Europe
SME UNION Report: How to finance SMEs in Europe |
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2006-03-19 Buchpräsentation “Psychologische Unternehmensführung” mit Autorin Lackner und MEP Rübig
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Am 19. März wurde im Haus der SME UNION das Buch “Psychologische Unternehmensführung: 63 handfeste Tipps, ihr Unternehmen zu steuern” von Martina Lackner vorgestellt. Nach einer kurzen Präsentation der Autorin durch den Journalisten der Kleinen Zeitung Michael Jungwirth, stellte Martina Lackner ihr Buch vor und legte ihren Schwerpunkt vor allem auf jene Aspekte, die auch für Klein- und Mittelunternehmen interessant sind. Paul Rübig MEP ging in seinem Impulse Statement vor allem auf die Wichtigkeit der kulturellen Unterschiede ein – die sowohl in der Politik als auch in der Privatwirtschaft spürbar sind. Die Buchpräsentation fand im Headquarter der SME UNION statt und bot den Gästen die Möglichkeit sich bei einem Glas Wein über die verschiedenen Erfahrungen über die Führung von KMUs auszutauschen.
Buchinformation |
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Success for SME UNION – CSR Report changed in favour for SMEs
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On 12 March 2007 the European Parliament voted the “Howitt-Report” on Corporate Social Responsibility. Also due to the Working Breakfast which was organised by the SME UNION on the initiative of SME Circle Vice-President Philip Bushill-Matthews and UEAPME, MEPs changed the report and left CSR as a purely voluntary activity "over and above legal requirements and contractual obligations". The missing of this term in previous versions of the report was strongly criticized by the SME UNION and UEAPME and was now added to the final report. The SME UNION also appreciates the removal of a clause, which would have created negative impacts on SMEs as compulsory reports would have been the consequence. The European Parliament followed the opinion of the SME UNION that compulsory reports would have meant only more red tape for companies especially for SMEs.
Next Steps: The challenge will be to get rid off the CSR criteria clause for public procurement. The SME UNION and the SME Circle will keep this issue high on its agenda. |
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Commission moves to cut administrative burdens for small businesses
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The European Commission presented a set of proposals in the framework of “Better regulation” aiming to cut unnecessary administrative burdens for companies, especially for SMEs. The proposal is part of the package of fast track actions of the European Commission which shall save companies 1,3 billion EUR a year on administrative costs. Especially micro-enterprises like butchers, bakers and grocery shops will benefit from the burden cutting as they will no longer face the reporting requirements like big companies. Nevertheless these easements should not go on the expense of sanitary standards.
Next steps: Now the proposals made by the Commission will be forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council for adoption.
More Details |
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Green Paper on Labour Law
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On 31 March 2007, the 4-months consultation process for the Green Paper on “Modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century” finishes. As already reported in our last newsletter, the latest draft of the paper is more adjusted to business reality as earlier versions. One focus of the Green paper is the different types of employment contracts and how to best achieve a balance between employment protections keeping the dynamism of the labour market.
Next steps: Polish SME Circle Member Jacek Protasiewicz MEP has been appointed rapporteur for the Green Paper on Labour Law in the lead Employment and Social Affairs committee. This initiative report touches on the free movement of workers and workers protection and rights. The SME Intergroup's next meeting on 23 May 2007 in Strasbourg will deal with this issue to properly consider small business concerns in this initiative.
Green Paper - Modernising labour law to meet the challenges of the 21st century |
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Community Strategy 2007-2012 on Health and Safety at Work – Improving Quality and Productivity at Work
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On 21 February 2007 the Commission published the Community Strategy about Health and Safety at Work for 2007-2012. The objective of the new strategy is to reduce accidents at work until 2012 per 25% by improving worker’s protection. Among other topics, the report points out that particularly SMEs are more affected by the negative impacts of absence and illness of workers but on the other hand have less resources to put complex systems of worker protection in action. Therefore the report calls upon the Member States to support SMEs particularly in the sectors of agriculture, construction and transport in the implementation of the instruments, like training of workers and risk assessment.
Community Strategy 2007-2012 on Health and Safety at Work |
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New Consumer Strategy 2007-2013
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Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kuneva presented the New Consumer Strategy for 2007-2013. The five main pillars of the strategy are modern cross border shopping rights, strong system for redress and enforcement, safe markets, making consumer outcomes the focus of EU policies and information. Even though the efforts of the strategy to create an effective integrated internal market are appreciated, especially the interest of companies particularly SMEs must not be left behind. For example, Meglena Kuneva put forward some proposals on collective redress which would give unproportionate power in the hands of individuals. Although the EU collective redress will not follow the US-style class action it could include representative actions which are introduced by an organization on behalf of individuals. This initiative of the European Commission could be an obstacle for SMEs and has to be closely monitored by SME organisations in Europe.
Next steps: An EU-wide consultation on the review of EU consumer-protection legislation, addressing among other issues e-shopping is currently under way, launched with the Green Paper of the Consumer Acquis.
Greenpaper of the Review of the Consumer Acquis
More information |
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Legislative Overview: SMErelated dossiers in the European Parliament
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Below you can find an overview by the SME Circle on existing dossiers issued by the European Parliament which deal mainly with the SME issues or have remarkable impact on small and medium enterprises.
SMErelated Dossiers March 07 |
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For comments and further information please do not hesitate to contact us.
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