UEAPME's latest press releases

Draft de-minimis Regulation needs some improvements, says UEAPME

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:44:00 +0200

Business Alliance for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:02:00 +0200

Brussels, 16 May 2013 - BUSINESSEUROPE, EUROCHAMBRES, the European Services Forum, the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, the Transatlantic Business Council, the Transatlantic Policy Network, the American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, AmChams in Europe and the US Chamber of Commerce launched the Business Alliance for a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).

EP/ENVI includes SME support in Environmental Action Programme

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 18:34:00 +0200

Brussels, 24 April 2013 – UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation, welcomed to a large extent the voting of the amendments of the EAP by the European Parliament's Environment Committee. In particular, UEAPME is satisfied that their demand for a more favourable framework for SMEs was included by the EP in the final text voted today. SMEs are the key players in the transition towards the green economy and should therefore see their role strengthened within the EAP, according to UEAPME. Adopting a “favourable framework for SMEs” within the EAP would enable them to improve their environmental impact and remain competitive on one hand. SMEs will accordingly be able to greatly contribute to the resource efficiency and low-carbon goals on the other. Diversely, UEAPME noted that Green Public Procurement is still an area where SMEs will be discouraged

Restarting the SME credit market in Europe: what role for securitisation and the capital markets?

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 12:03:00 +0200

In the aftermath of the crisis, the 23 million EU SMEs – amounting to 99 % of all enterprises -remain more than ever the backbone of the EU economy. It is of utmost importance that they have the financial capacity to restore economic growth. Yet the European real economy is mainly financed by credit – up to 80 %, unlike that of the United States. This figure highlights the crucial balancing act for European policymakers – the need to create a broader financing base in the long run, but also support alternative ways of boosting credit in the medium term.

Rural development: Parliament's vote on EARDF ignores non-farming SMEs

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 10:03:00 +0100

Brussels, 15 March 2013 – UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation, was left disappointed by the vote at the European Parliament's plenary this week on the European Agricultural Rural Development Fund (EARDF). Despite our repeated calls, MEPs voted in favour of refocusing some measures of the EARDF exclusively on farming or activities related to farming and forestry businesses. Support for training, consulting and business creation will only be available for companies active in this field. According to UEAPME, this aid should also be available for non farming SMEs in rural areas, which should also be involved in the planned “short supply chains”. UEAPME therefore called on the upcoming Agriculture Council to scrap the amendments inserted by the European Parliament and to revert to the original and far more balanced proposal by the European Commission.

Tripartite Social Summit: no EU funds for countries delaying reforms, say SMEs

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 12:38:00 +0100

Brussels, 14 March 2013 – Europe will not get out of the current economic recession unless Member States put into practice the structural reforms they have promised to deliver, according to UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation. Speaking today at the Tripartite Social Summit ahead of the European Council, President Gunilla Almgren stressed that the current widespread downturn is linked to a lack of internal demand as a consequence of austerity measures not fully counterbalanced by structural reforms. The crisis is hitting smaller companies in sectors such as construction and services very hard, as shown by our latest “Craft and SME Barometer” that also recorded decreasing confidence and low expectations among SMEs (1). Policymakers must find the right balance between growth enhancing measures and structural reforms to improve competitiveness and create new business opportunities, said Ms Almgren, speaking in favour of a “conditionality” clause to grant EU financial support only to those Member States that act to implement the jointly agreed reforms. Finally, President Almgren commented on youth unemployment and on the social dimension of the EMU, stressing that the European Social Dialogue can also be a tool to trigger a job rich recovery and to promote economic growth.

Business confidence declines further as recession spreads, survey finds

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:00:00 +0100

Brussels, 12 March 2013 – European SMEs' confidence declined for the fourth semester in a row as a downturn due to a sluggish internal demand is feeding through all Member States, according to a survey conducted by UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation, and its members. Since the last autumn, the proportion of entrepreneurs expecting a positive or neutral economic environment has further decreased, with UEAPME's “SME Business Climate Index” going down from 67.5 to 65.3 and standing below the 70 points barrier that is seen as a neutral business climate virtually everywhere. All economic indicators declined further in the second half of 2012, with the recession striking SMEs even beyond their already negative expectations. Smaller enterprises in the sectors most reliant on internal demand, such as services and construction, were the hardest hit. European SMEs predict a stable negative situation also for the first half of 2013. Against this background, UEAPME called on policymakers to stabilise financial markets, implement structural reforms and support growth. Finally, on the ongoing fiscal consolidation, UEAPME recommended allowing “automatic stabilisers” to come into play in the short run to avoid a further economic contraction and more negative effects on consumption.

“Smart regulation”: all EU institutions must do their part, warn SMEs

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:58:00 +0100

Brussels, 7 March 2013 – UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation, was left with mixed feelings by the communication on “smart regulation” listing the top 10 most burdensome pieces of EU legislation unveiled by the European Commission today (Thursday). On the positive side, the Commission seems to be moving away from its plans for blanket exemptions for micro enterprises from EU rules. It is also clearly treating the issue of smart regulation as a top priority. However, smart regulation will only be achieved if Parliament and Council are equally committed, stressed UEAPME, pointing out the current legislative debate on key policy files such as data protection and public procurement. Moreover, the association deplored that the “Think Small First” principle is mentioned only in passing in a text that is supposedly devoted to the needs of European SMEs.

Capital requirements: SMEs welcome deal to transpose “Basel III” rules in the EU

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 10:44:00 +0100

Brussels, 28 February 2013 – UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation, warmly welcomed the agreement reached between the EU institutions last night on the implementation in the Union of the “Basel III” rules on capital requirements. According to UEAPME, the negotiators in the “trialogue” talks struck a good balance between the requirement to increase the resilience of the financial system on one hand and the need not to harm the provision of financing to the real economy on the other. This agreement is an important step to further stabilise financial markets and will help sheltering SME finance from the possible pitfalls of a wrong “Basel III” implementation, stressed the association, which praised the Irish Presidency for taking the lead in closing this important file and Othmar Karas MEP for his hard work to bring the rules in line with the needs of SMEs.

Public procurement: “trialogue” talks last chance to get rules right, warn SMEs

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 09:51:00 +0100

Brussels, 21 February 2013 – The European Parliament and the Council must ensure greater and easier participa-tion for SMEs in their future “trialogue” talks on the new public procurement directive, according to UEAPME, the European craft and SME employers' organisation. The European Parliament's Internal Market Committee voted today to enter negotiations with the Council on this key file. Several pending issues will have to be determined in these talks. In particular, UEAPME asked both institutions to reinstate the “apply or explain” principle, by which contracting authorities should separate tenders into lots as a rule, or otherwise state their reasons for not doing so. The association also spoke in favour of allowing variants and against any further reduction of the time limits to express interest and to prepare a tender. Finally, UEAPME warned about the risk of unfair competition for SMEs if public authorities operating also on the private market are exempted from the new directive.