What small businesses want from the new MEPs

Small enterprises contribute substantially to economic growth; they are more flexible, important for the local economy, and for employment. Thus the reason why EU member states have promised, within the Lisbon Strategy and the European Charter for Small Enterprises, to put small enterprises in the centre of policy decision-making.

"Think Small First" has to become the basic principle to which the European institutions have to commit themselves. UEAPME, which represents over 11 million crafts and SMEs from the enlarged EU and in which GRTU is an active member, strongly urges all members of the next European Parliament to become more sensitive to the needs of SMEs in Europe. In this memorandum Europe's SMEs present their expectations for the new MEPs.

A review of the SME-friendly performance of the EP gives a very mixed picture. The reappearance of the SME-Intergroup (all-party) and the strengthening of the SME circle (EPP) was helpful in getting some issues through, which was particularly important for SMEs.

The EP supported successfully SMEs' need to introduce a Late Payment Directive and also earmarked money to support SMEs' participation in the European Standardisation Process. The outgoing EP also had shortcomings and produced additional burdens for crafts and SMEs. Too often, SME representatives were not invited to hearings on relevant issues and the EP did not demand sufficiently systematic impact assessments on its decisions.

The EP has to press for the finalisation of the European Internal Market. There are still many barriers which hinder the full deployment of the economic potential of crafts and SMEs. For example, a single market for services with harmonised quality requirements is needed. Different company taxation regimes and administrative procedures for complying with the European VAT system is a major barrier for SMEs to cross-border trading. Other areas where Europe's SMEs still suffer from are different payment systems and a restricted regulatory framework.

The European Parliament should strengthen its effort to improve European economic governance. Therefore, the new EP should support a more flexible interpretation of the Stability and Growth Pact in accordance with the business cycle and reform necessities in order to move forward towards a more coherent European economic policy.

Unnecesssary regulations resulting in administrative burdens are still the most quoted problems entrpreneurs have to deal with. For this reason, reasonable and realistic timeframes for the implementation of legislation should be stressed in the EP. Public services have to be produced efficiently and at reasonable costs for customers and taxpayers. This is why SMEs expect the EP to support private production of these services whenever it is possible.

The EP should contribute to the best possible business environment for crafts and SMEs. These will only be able to deploy their potential for economic growth and employment creation if they are provided with an adequate environment for access to finance, training and professional qualifications and new technologies.

The EP should support new instruments to improve the access of SMEs to venture capital and seed finance as well as an increase of money for credit guarantee schemes. Entrepreneurship education should be promoted through programmes targeted at schools, public authorities and the public in general. Labour mobility and proper vocational training further facilitate the business milieu in which SMEs operate.

Policy-makers have to avoid endangering the economic base of the European social model by introducing new labour market, social and environmental regulations, which may have a negative influence on economic performance and may therefore be counter-productive to the Lisbon targets. SMEs need flexible labour markets and thus flexible working time arrangements are essential to increase productivity and competitiveness. Environmental legislation should distinguish between the sizes and nature of the business in order to alleviate excessive costs of compliance.

The national organisations in the EU's 25 member states representing small businesses expect that the new EP will listen more carefully to the voice of small firms, create instruments and provide resources, which will allow them to present their opinions. A serious "business impact assessment" should be carried out for all regulations which have an impact on enterprises. But the EP should ensure that these impact assessments are carried out independently and should also involve experts from SME groups.

Representatives of small enterprises expect a greater commitment from the new EP towards the resolving of issues that affect them. Since the last elections for the EP the EU has worked on a programme of initiatives in favour of SMEs that has created a greater awareness towards the needs of these enterprises. This increased awareness was not so fully represented in the outgoing EP. UEAPME and its participating national organisations like GRTU expect more, much more, from the new EP than what resulted from the outgoing EP.