The Small Business Act (SBA)

Transcription

1 SME policy in the context of the financial and economic crisis Eurocommerce Sectoral Social Dialogue 12 February 2009 Emmanuel Berck Deputy Head of Unit SME policy Development

2 The Small Business Act (SBA) Adopted in June main objectives: entrepreneurship, Think Small First, promote SME growth 10 principles Concrete measures + 5 legislative acts Action Plan adopted in December 2008 Follow-up through the Lisbon strategy Implementation underway

3 10 politically binding principles 1. Create an environment in which entrepreneurs and family businesses can thrive and entrepreneurship is rewarded 2. Ensure that honest entrepreneurs who have faced bankruptcy quickly get a second Chance 3. Design rules according to the Think Small First principle 4. Make public administrations responsive to SMEs needs 5. Facilitate SMEs participation in P. Procurement and better use State Aid possibilities for SMEs

4 Principles (ctd.) 6. Facilitate SMEs access to finance and develop an environment supportive to timely payments in commercial transactions 7. Help SMEs to benefit more from the opportunities offered by the Single Market 8. Promote the upgrading of skills in SMEs and all forms of innovation 9. Enable SMEs to turn environmental challenges into opportunities 10. Encourage and support SMEs to benefit from the growth of markets

5 Legislative measures General Block Exemption Regulation on State Aids (GBER) Regulation providing for a Statute for a European Private Company (SPE) Directive on reduced VAT rates (locally supplied services) A legislative proposal to simplify rules on VAT invoicing An amendment to the Directive 2000/35/EC on late payments

6 Non legislative measures Commission: 42 actions proposed MS: 51 recommendations for actions Among others: SME test to analyse impact of legislation on SMEs and specific measures for SMEs when needed Erasmus for young entrepreneurs and for apprentices Improved access to standards

7 Non legislative measures (ctd.) Easier access to finance: EIB funds for mezzanine finance and micro-credit Code of best practices on SMEs access to Public Procurement SME Week in Spring 2009 EU network of female entrepreneurs Facilitating access to markets including EU Business Centres in China & India

8 Impact of the financial crisis on European SMEs Source: OECD

9 European Recovery Plan Adopted on 26 November COM(2008)800 A European response to the crisis Coordinating national efforts and adding a European contribution (total 200 Bi. Euros) 1. Major employment support initiative 2. Reduce social charges and VAT on labourintensive services 3. Enhance access to financing for business 4. Reduce adm. burden, implement SBA 5. Investment in infrastructure (TEN-E, TEN-T, broadband), using 5 bn unspent

10 European Recovery Plan (2) 6. Energy efficiency in buildings 7. Promote take up of green products 8. Increase investments in R&D, innovation and education 9. PPP on green cars ( 5 bn), energy-efficient buildings ( 1 bn) and factories for the future ( 1.2 bn) 10. High-speed internet for all ( 1 bn)

11 EU Recovery Plan SME measures Reduce employers social charges on lower income jobs EIB 30bn loan package + 1bn for Mezzanine capital State aid temporary measures Adoption of Directive on reduced VAT rates before European Council Spring Summit Cost-free registration of business within 3 days One stop shops for the hiring of first employee Exempt micro-enterprises from annual accounts Speed up adoption of Private Company Statute Public authorities to pay invoices within 1 month Reduce patent fees and maintenance by 75%

12 Next steps SBA implementation to continue European Parliament report in March Recovery Plan assessment report (4 March) Measures for the financial sector Assessment of the MS response + horizontal issues (sectoral analysis + SMEs) Labour market issues Input to the G20 Meeting

13 Info & Contacts SME Portal ex_en.htm SBA neurship/sba_en.htm Enterprise Europe Network Fax :