Compliance Assistance Programme

The 6th Environmental Action Programme calls for a specific compliance assistance programme for SMEs as part of its priority actions. Small businesses are still too often unaware of environmental legislation and do not have access to the necessary technical support to help them in this field.

The European Commission published this programme beginning of October 2007. The purpose of it is to provide a series of appropriate tools and initiatives to fill the existing gaps and answering to the needs for training and advise of SMEs in order to comply with environmental legislation.

UEAPME welcomes and fully supports this new initiative, which has - since the beginning - actively contributed to develop in the interest of SMEs.

For more information please also refer to the following link of the European Commission:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/sme/index.htm

UEAPME now:

• wants to see ECAP up and running as soon as possible at European, national, regional and local level;
• asks for follow-up actions in particular as for the training needs
• asks for a specific budget line to accompany it.

Documents

• October 2007: Small, clean and competitive - A programme to help small and medium-sized enterprises comply with environmental legislation (EN, DE, FR)
  
  

Position Papers

• December 2005: UEAPME remarks on the Compliance Assistance Programme (CAP) for SMEs in the field of the environment
  
  
• October 2003: UEAPME's suggestions for the upcoming Compliance Assistance Programme of the EU for SMEs

Press releases

• 08/10/07: ECAP: enhancements are needed to help SMEs become greener