SME UNION

SME UNION
Small and Medium Entrepreneurs Union

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SME Circle of the EPP Group

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The SME Circle in the EPP Group works in close collaboration with the SME UNION and constantly raises the awareness of SME issues within the European Parliament, being in constant dialogue with the Commission. The SME Circle currently comprises 62 members representing a broad spectrum of the European Parliament committees. Over the past years the SME Circle has succeeded in establishing itself as an official and permanent body within the EPP Group, operating as an interface between the SME UNION, entrepreneurs and EU legislation.

President of the SME Circle of the EPP Group

Bendt BENDTSEN MEP

Member
Committee on Industry, Research and Energy
Delegation for relations with the countries of South Asia

Substitute
Committee on Budgets
Special Committee on the Financial, Economic and Social Crisis
Delegation for relations with Australia and New Zealand
Delegation to the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly

Contact: European Parliament
Rue de Wiertz ASP 12E169
B-1047 Bruxelles/Brussel
Tel. : +32 (0)2 28 45125
Fax : +32 (0)2 28 49125
email

SME Circle Member List 2009-2014

SME Circle Achievements in all 22 official EU languages

SME Circle the task-force for SMEs in the European Parliament

The years 2005 and 2006 are crucial years for the competitiveness of SMEs in Europe. When the Barroso Commission took office at the end of last year, it started campaigning for better European regulation. The Commission promised to create a more favourable jurisdiction for enterprises, especially for smaller and medium-sized enterprises. New legislation is supposed to be in line with an ex-ante impact assessment, in particular with regard to SMEs. The Commission also assured that existing legislation should be streamlined accordingly.

Performance of the new Commission
Small and medium enterprises were looking forward to the Barroso team as a key advocate of their interests in Europe. Since being in office, however, the Commission’s performance is still not satisfactory. Be it improvements of the chemicals legislation (REACH) or the financing of SMEs, the Commission hardly does more than paying lip service. A real cross-sector focus on SMEs can neither be found in the Commission's strategic guidelines nor in its work programme. The Commission apparently concentrates more on the large-scale industry. A recent example is the composition of the automobile high level group.

Raise the awareness of SME issues
The SME Circle in the EPP-ED Group has expressed its concerns. In close collaboration with the SME UNION we constantly raise the awareness of SME issues within the European Parliament being in touch with the Commission. The SME Circle currently comprises 52 members representing a broad spectrum of the European Parliament committees. Over the past years we have succeeded in establishing the Circle as an offical and permanent body within the EPP-ED Group. The SME Circle makes significant contributions to the development of EPP-ED Group positions and serves as an early-warning system for SME issues in the legislative process. In this context, the SME Circle operates as an interface between entrepreneurs and EU legislation.

Remind the Commission to stand by its promises
99 per cent of all European businesses are SMEs and thus the backbone of the EU economy. With the SME Circle in the EPP-ED Group and the upcoming founding of the SME Intergroup, the EPP-ED-Group in the European Parliament demonstrates its understanding for the increasing importance of small and medium enterprises. We will have to remind the Commission to stand by its promises. We will have to address the Council more efficiently in order to shape a more SME-friendly policy in Europe. SMEs are the most important economic factor in Europe. We have to be clear about this in our everyday work.

Successes of the SME Circle

Chemical legislation REACH – no stumbling blocks for entrepreneurs
Basel II - better access to finance for SMEs
Galileo Navigation System - More chances for high-tech SMEs
How SMEs profit from the liberalized European energy market
Promotion and support of SMEs in the new EU member countries
Services Directive - Information on risks and chances for SMEs in a single market of services
WTO – the chances of SMEs in a globalized world
The patentability of computer-implemented inventions and SMEs
The role of SMEs in the EU budget
The impacts of the 3rd directive on driving licences on entrepreneurs
Anti-discrimination activities for SMEs

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