The Overall Perception of the Small Business Act Model

Christos Kyriatzis,

Acting Head of Unit,

International Affairs and Missions for Growth, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry,

European Commission

TAIEX Workshop on SBA

Israel

22 May 2013

1. EU SMEs in the crisis- Why are SMEs so important?

1. 99 out 100 European Businesses are SMEs (9 out of ten have less than 10 employees)

2. They provide 2 out of 3 private sector jobs3. 85% of new jobs between 2002-2010 in the EU

were created by SMEs

=> All efforts to reinforce the EUs global competitive position have to put SMEs central

EU SMEs in the crisis – main trends

Source: Eurostat/National Statistics Offices of Member States/Cambridge Econometrics/Ecorys

Note: 2011 and 2012 figures are estimates.

2.The EU’s SME PolicyGuiding principles:Subsidiarity as the starting point -> SME

policy is – first of all- national business

Role of EU focussed on -> areas where joint EU action may yield

value-added -> issues where the EU as such has the

competency to improve the situation of SMEs

The EU’s SME Policy

SME Policy

Competitionpolicy

Internal Market

Tradepolicy

Regional policy

SocialPolicy

EnvironmentalPolicy

Fiscalpolicy

Consumer & healthprotection policies

R&DEducation

Policy

The EU’s SME Policy - The “Small Business Act”

• Adopted in June 2008

• Main objective: create a common framework for SME initiatives and implement the “Think Small First” principle

• 10 principles and a set of policy actions to implement them

• SBA Review in 2011

The 10 SBA principles

1. Support entrepreneurship

2. Give a 2nd chance (failure)

3. “Think Small First” (reduce burdens)

4. Public administration responsive to SME needs (e-government)

5. Improve access to public procurement & use of state aid

6. Facilitate access to finance

7. Benefit from Single Market opportunities

8. Access to skills and innovation

9. Eco-innovation/environment opportunities

10. Access to external markets

SBA Governance

Network of SME Envoys

SME Assembly

SME Performance

Review

SBA Governance

Network of SME Envoys

Governance through cooperation: the example of the SME envoy network (exchange of good practices)

Key- the work of the SME Envoy network:

•Member States have appointed their national SME Envoys (regional Envoys can be nominated)•Meet 3-4 times a year, involving also stakeholders•Informal meetings between indiv. MS to exchange experiences ever more frequent

SBA Governance

SME Performance

Review

Regular monitoring of SBA implementation on the MS- level

Smart regulationBetter start-up conditions

Goal: start a business in 3 days for €100

SBA Governance

SME Assembly

SBA governance: interaction with stakeholders

Example: The consultation on the "ten most burdensome pieces of EU legislation"•- open from 01 October 2012 to 21 December 2012 (and available in 21 languages) •- targeting individual Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and the organisations representing their interests

•- Stakeholders were consulted on: •~ a list of most burdensome policy areas where either EU and national legislation (or both) could be the cause of the burden. •~ a list of 55 specific legislative items (35 directives, 18 regulations, 2 decisions) • •- Number of total replies received (16/01/2013): 1000 (more than ¾ from individual SMEs, from which approximately one third of micro-enterprises). (Note: The first phase of the consultation through the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) took place from 16 May to 27 June in the form of an SME panel. Around 7000 problematic cases flagged by SMEs through the Europe Enterprise Network – only 2010-2011 used.)

•- Results reported directly to the of Heads of Governments and States in March 2013

4. Complementory support programmes/measures

=>SME Innovation Example: Horizon 2020

=>SME FinanceExample: COSME

=>SME – access to new marketsExample(s): European Enterprise Network; IPR Centre China;

Thank you very much for your attention!

***Contacts:

• Ludger OdenthalHead, SME Perfomance Review Team European CommissionDG Enterprise and IndustryUnit D4, Small Business Act, SME PoliciesBREY 05/339B-1049 Brussels/Belgium+32 229 98657Ludger.Odenthal@ec.europa.eu

•  • European Small Business Portal • http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/index_en.htm• ---------------------------- • SME Performance Review• http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/performance-review/index_en.htm