Press Release: Small enterprises at the forefront in restoring growth

The SME Envoys meet in Brussels to shape a strategy aimed at freeing the growth potential and competitiveness of SMEs. Key elements agreed are: making it possible to start a company in 3 days for less than €100, increasing access to finance and public procurement and reducing bureaucracy, including by introducing an SME-friendly test for all new legislation at EU and Member State level. For this purpose, the European Commission and all Member States should introduce a specific SME test before any legislation is adopted.

The test should ensure that no new obstacles arise that could hamper the smooth running of Europe’s 25 million small businesses. Twelve countries have already made the SME test a reality, and several more are in the process of introducing it. The SME Envoys agreed to implement the above measures in all Member States by September 2012. With these measures Europe is actively strengthening the position of SMEs, which are widely viewed as critical to restoring economic growth.

European Commission: Memo/11/601: 2011 Survey on the SME test application in EU Member States http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/601&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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