Annexes to COM(2008)394 - “Think Small First” - A “Small Business Act” for Europe

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dossier COM(2008)394 - “Think Small First” - A “Small Business Act” for Europe.
document COM(2008)394 EN
date June 25, 2008
agreements will in particular seek the opening up of non-EU countries’ procurement markets, which should lead to mutual and reciprocal benefits, through its bilateral and multilateral negotiations (WTO Government Procurement Agreement), in particular with fast-growing countries will promote trade facilitation both in the context of the WTO and in bilateral negotiations will continue to facilitate EU SMEs’ access to the markets of candidate and other neighbourhood countries, in particular through the Enterprise Europe Network and by promoting the “Think Small First” principle in these countries, including through exchanges of good practice based on the European Charter for Small Enterprises and the SBA intends to establish European Business Centres in 2009 in selected markets, starting with the fast-growing economies of India and China intends to launch a ‘Gateway to China’ scheme, focusing on establishing an Executive Training Programme in China to enable European SMEs to be more competitive in the Chinese market by 2010. the Member States are invited to: encourage coaching of SMEs by large companies in order to bring them to international markets. |

- 5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SBA AND GOVERNANCE

Since its launch by the Commission in October 2007, the idea of a “Small Business Act” for Europe has raised many expectations. While it is widely supported at government level, by the European Parliament and by the SME community, it is important to implement it thoroughly. This requires the full political commitment of both the Commission and the Member States. Therefore, as a basis for a renewed commitment to SMEs, the Commission invites the European Council to welcome and support the “Small Business Act” for Europe, adopt the 10 principles and commit to the implementation of the actions proposed. Moreover, the Commission invites the Council and Parliament to swiftly adopt the related legislative proposals.

The SBA should be fully embedded in the Growth and Jobs Strategy to ensure its efficient implementation and to allow for a regular update on its deliverables. Member States are therefore invited to take advantage of the update of the Lisbon cycle planned for the end of 2008 to take account of the SBA in their National Reform Programmes and in their annual implementation reports. Member States can take inspiration from the enclosed overview of good practice in the EU, and the Commission will continue to provide a platform for best practice exchange.

The Commission will assess the progress made in implementing the SBA and report on it regularly in the framework of the Growth and Jobs Strategy, starting in 2008. This will allow the European Council to review progress made in the field of SME policy both at Community and Member State level and to draw the necessary conclusions.

Annex: Exchanging good practice in SME policy

Exchanging good practice in SME policy has proven to be a successful tool to implement the Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs. Since 2000, the Commission has collected examples of good practice in various areas. Those collected under the European Charter for Small Enterprises are available in the Charter online catalogue at:

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/charter/gp.

The European Enterprise Awards recognise excellence in promoting regional entrepreneurship and reward outstanding initiatives. A collection of good practice in promoting business is available at:

http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/smes/awards/download/compendium_2007_en_lowres.pdf.

This annex provides some examples of good practice from Member States, serving as inspiration for implementing the SBA.

Principle 1: | Create an environment in which entrepreneurs and family businesses can thrive and entrepreneurship is rewarded |

Saxony-Anhalt Impulse Network, Germany |

Website: www.impuls-netzwerk.de |

Youth Enterprise and Entrepreneurship Strategy in Wales, United Kingdom |

Website: http://www.projectdynamo.co.uk; www.becauseyoucan.com. |

Cap’Ten, be captain of your project, Belgium |

Website: www.ichec-pme.be |

Emax - the Nordic training camp for young entrepreneurs, Sweden |

Website: www.emaxevent.com, www.startcentrum.se |

Kinder Business Week, Austria |

Website: www.kinderbusinessweek.at |

Entrepreneurship Days: Emprendemos Juntos – We are all entrepreneurs, Spain |

Website: www.emprendemosjuntos.es |

Developing entrepreneurial culture among women, Romania |

Website: www.animmc.ro |

Principle 2: | Ensure that honest entrepreneurs who have faced bankruptcy quickly get a second chance |

Development programme preparing for SMEs' controlled succession of generation, Finland |

Website: www.te-keskus.fi, www.yrityssuomi.fi |

Faster start-up after bankruptcy, Denmark |

Website: www.naec.dk |

Help for the self-employed and business owners in difficulty, Belgium |

Website: www.beci.be |

Principle 3: | Design rules according to the “Think Small First” Principle |

Public consultation website “Teeme koos”, Estonia |

Website: www.osale.ee; www.riigikantselei.ee; www.valitsus.ee |

Implementation of support services for SMEs on local level though One-stop-shops, Slovenia |

Website: www.japti.si |

Regulation checklist, United Kingdom |

Website: www.businesslink.gov.uk |

Y4 Committee ,Finland |

Website: www.y4.fi |

Principle 4: | Make public administrations responsive to SME needs |

The e-government programme of the Belgian Social sector for SMEs, Belgium |

Website: www.ksz-bcss.fgov.be |

Single registration points for entrepreneurs, Czech Republic |

Website: www.mpo.cz |

One-Stop-Shop for Entrepreneurs, Germany |

Website: www.one-stop-shop-trier.de |

Micro-business management centre for economic and financial reporting, France |

Website: www.artifrance.eu |

Public information web portal for small businesses, France |

Website: pme.service-public.fr |

CORE - Companies Online Registration Environment, Ireland |

Website: www.cro.ie |

Kick-start project, Malta |

Website: www.mcmpgov.mt |

Online company counter, Netherlands |

Website: www.bedrijvenloket.nl |

KSU - National services network for SMEs, Poland |

Website: www.euroinfo.org.pl, www.ksu.parp.gov.pl |

Enterprise online, Portugal |

Website: www.portaldaempresa.pt |

One-stop-Shops for SMEs (VEM), Slovenia |

Website: www.japti.si |

Central public administration portal, Slovakia |

Website: www.telecom.gov.sk |

Salary-on-web service for small employers, Finland |

Website: www.palkka.fi |

Principle 5: | Adapt public policy tools to SMEs’ needs: facilitate SMEs’ participation in public procurement and better use State Aid possibilities for SMEs |

eProcurement portal, Luxembourg |

Website: http://www.marches.public.lu, http://www.mtp.public.lu |

Principle 6: | Facilitate SMEs’ access to finance and develop a legal and business environment supportive to timely payment in commercial transactions |

Seed and venture capital programme, Ireland |

Website: www.enterprise-ireland.com |

Loan to small businesse with interest refund, Cyprus |

Website: www.bankofcyprus.com |

Public venture capital fund of funds, Latvia |

Website: www.lga.lv |

Micro-loan programme for women entrepreneurs and business owners, Spain |

Website: www.ipyme.org |

Principle 7: | Help SMEs to benefit more from opportunities offered by the Single Market |

Portal for business and export, Czech Republic |

Website: Businessinfo.cz |

Competence network Netherlands/North Rhine Westphalia INTER-NED, Germany |

Website: www.inter-ned.info |

Public awareness-raising on standardisation, Lithuania |

Website: www.lsd.lt |

CETMOS –— The Central European Trade Mark Observation Service, Austria |

Website: www.cetmos.eu |

Principle 8: | Promote the upgrading of skills in SMEs and all forms of innovation |

National e-business strategy, Ireland |

Website: www.entemp.ie |

Innovation management, Hungary |

Website: www.chic.hu |

National Innovation Fund, Bulgaria |

Website: www.sme.government.bg |

The Hellenic Technology Clusters Initiative, Greece |

Website: www.htci.gr |

Principle 9: | Enable SMEs to turn the environmental challenges into opportunities |

A new process of micro finishing surfaces in the ceramics industry, decreasing the environmental impact, Italy |

Website: http://www.fondovalle.it |

Ecological tax reform, Estonia |

Website: www.fin.ee |

EDM - Electronic Data Management in Environment and Waste Management, Austria |

Website: www.lebensministerium.at |

Principle 10: | Encourage and support SMEs to benefit from growth of markets |

Internet Fair, Poland |

Website: www.euroinfo.org.pl |

Pipe - introduction plan to foreign promotion, Spain |

Website: www.portalpipe.com |

Sprint - Joining together to compete on world markets, Italy |

Website: www.sprint-er.it |

[1] “Implementing the Community Lisbon Programme – Modern SME policy for Growth and Employment”, COM(2005) 551 final, 10.11.2005.

[2] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/charter/docs/charter_en.pdf

[3] “Small and medium-sized enterprises - Key for delivering more growth and jobs. - A mid-term review of Modern SME policy”, COM(2007) 592 final, 4.10.2007.

[4] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/admin-burdens-reduction/home_en.htm

[5] “Impact Assessment on the SBA”, SEC(2008) 2101.

[6] 2007 Observatory of EU SMEs. http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/analysis/observatory_en.htm

[7] “A single market for 21st century Europe”, COM(2007) 724 final, 20.11.2007.

[8] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/docs/sba_consultation_report_final.pdf

[9] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/survey/eurobarometer_intro.htm

[10] “A Common Immigration Policy for Europe: Principles and tools”, COM(2008)359 final, 17.6.2008.

[11] “Overcoming the stigma of business failure – for a second chance policy - Implementing the Lisbon Partnership for Growth and Jobs”, COM(2007) 584 final, 5.10.2007.

[12] Report from the Expert Group on “Models to Reduce the Disproportionate Regulatory burden on SMEs”, May 2007.

[13] http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/docs/SME_public_procurement_Summary.pdf

[14] http://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/

[15] http://ec.europa.eu/solvit/site/index_en.htm

[16] Commission Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning, 18.12.2006.