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| A Small Business Act for European SMEs |
The main objective of the SME UNION is to shape EU policy and legislation in a more SME friendly way and to support our member organizations all over Europe. We implement this SME agenda in close cooperation with the SME Circle of the EPP-ED Group in the European Parliament, our good contacts to the European Commission and to the EPP member parties all over Europe.Binding guidelines and provisions tailored especially for SMEs should draw together different existing provisions and introducing new ones for small businesses in various policies and laws with the aim of reducing administrative burdens for SMEs, increasing their participation in EU programmes, insuring their share in public procurement, easier access to standardization and reducing obstacles to cross-border trade. In this context we consider that a European Small Business Act should also be a top priority for the Slovenian and French Presidency in 2008. That is why the SME UNION of the EPP voted for the European Small Business Act as topic of the year 2008."The European Commission has set up a "High Level Expert Group on Administrative Burdens". There are no real entrepreneurs in this expert group and no representatives from our new member countries from Eastern Europe. In response we decided to set up a "low" level group to fight administrative burdens comprised of small and medium entrepreneurs who have suffered from bureaucratic obstacles first-hand. Our group will present the results after 6 months and will not spend millions of Euros for consultants. They will be able to speak from their own experience. During the Political Burau meeting on 13 October 2008, the SME UNION members decided for the Topic of the Year 2009 that will concentrate on “Creative SMEs as key drivers for innovation and growth: New solutions for the energy challenge!”. This subject was chosen because the European Union needs innovation and competitiveness to grow stronger and SMEs have a key role to play.
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| Annual SME UNION Topic of the Year Conference and Political Entrepreneurship Awards 2008 |
On 13 October 2008 SME UNION of the EPP organized its Political Bureau and Topic of the Year Conference. At the SME UNION’s annual Topic of the Year Conference, SME UNION President Christoph Leitl handed this year’s SME UNION Political Entrepreneurship Awards over to Philippe Maystadt, President of the European Investment Bank, and to Christine Lagarde, French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment for their extraordinary efforts to support SMEs and to make the Small Business Act (SBA) a valid success. President Leitl underlined that the SME UNION contributed extensively from the beginning to the input of the SBA: “The European Small Business Act has the potential to completely change European SME policy. To make this happen, the SBA needs to be more than a replicating exercise of what already exists. It must become a politically binding act for the European Commission, Parliament and the Member States.”
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| SME UNION meets President Gul and PM Erdogan |
The SME UNION of the EPP together with TUSKON (Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists of Turkey) organized end of May, Wednesday 28 May until Sunday 1 June a four day visit to Turkey meeting high level politicians. On Wednesday 28 May the delegation of the Turkey Trip arrived in Ankara and on Thursday 29 May they met the main policy makers of today’s Turkey. Firstly, they had a meeting with Abdullah Gul, President of the Republic of Turkey who talked about the relations between Turkey and the EU and the importance of SMEs. The third meeting was with Rifat Hisarcikoglu, President of TOBB (Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey) who emphasized that sixty percent of exports of Turkish companies go to the EU. Another highlight of the delegation was a meeting with Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister of Turkey, who discussed the EU membership process of Turkey. |
He also emphasized the need of a better dialog with EPP and EPP-ED representatives. The last meeting on Wednesday was with Mehmet Simsek, Minister of State in charge of economy, who gave an overview of the current impressive economic situation of Turkey. On Friday 30 May, the second day of the business trip, the delegation went to Gaziantep which is an economical center of South Eastern Turkey. Gaziantep, hometown for considerable amount of Kurds, is well known as a model for peaceful co-existence in Turkey. During the day, the delegation met with leading entrepreneurs from Gaziantep and visited the Museum of Zeugma and Industrial Area of Gaziantep. On Saturday 31 May, the third day of the business trip, the delegation went to Istanbul and met with Kadir Topbaş, Mayor of Istanbul and Georges Marovitch, Vatican’s representative in Istanbul and visited Sultan Ahmet Mosque, Hagia Sophia Museum and Grand Bazaar. On Sunday 1 June, the last day of the business trip, the delegation had a Bosporus Yacht Trip with TUSKON Board before returning to Brussels. |
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| SME UNION President Leitl hands over Better Regulation package to EU Commissioner Verheugen |
The “Low” Level Group was created at the end of 2007 to support and stimulate the Commission’s “High Level Expert Group” to fight against administrative burdens. It was set up by the SME UNION of the European People’s Party, EUROCHAMBRES (the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and Jade (the European Confederation of Junior Enterprises). It is made up of 7 SME entrepreneurs from the grass root level and 7 SME experts for background support.
„EU Commission Vice-President Verheugen has assured me yesterday that the European Commission will embrace the suggestions of the Low Level Group for Better Regulation (LLG) in its policy proposals”, explained SME UNION President Christoph Leitl after his meeting with Günter Verheugen on Thursday, 06.06.2008, in Brussels. The “Low” Level Group for Better Regulation has yesterday presented its package of concrete measures and political demands to substantially reduce red tape. 21 proposals, representing a saving potential for companies of approximately 2.5 to 3.5 billions of Euros, were hammered out by the LLG. After the presentation, SME UNION President Christoph Leitl discussed the proposals with EU Commissioner Verheugen who is in charge of enterprise and industry.
The full package of measures proposed by the “Low” Level Group can be downloaded from
Low Level Group Package and http://www.sme-union.org/docs |
| SME UNION General Assembley in Vienna |
On Monday, 23 June the SME UNION of the EPP held its annual General Assembly in the capital of Austria, Vienna, by invitation of the Austrian SME Union Wirtschaftsbund. The General Assembly took place from 16.30 to 18.00h and it was followed by an evening programme. The SME UNION Members decided on the 2009 electoral road map. Under the headline: "9 Good Reasons for 2009: If business goes well, all are well!", considering that politics create the economic, fiscal and logistic environment in which entrepreneurial initiative can prosper, the SME UNION Members proposed nine reasons why European businessmen will vote for the EPP for the 7 June 2009 Parliamentary Elections:
1. Less and better regulation
2. Lower prices and fighting inflation
3. More funding on regional level
4. Lower taxes and simpler tax systems trough tax competition
5. Open markets for an open society
6. Better financing for SMEs
7. Boost entrepreneurial spirit
8. Support women entrepreneurs
9. Tackling the energy challenges
9 Good Reasons for 2009 |
| SME UNION President Leitl and EU Commissioner Verheugen agree on concrete proposals to address concerns of SMEs in three months, not in three years |
The SME UNION, the business organization of the EPP, urges the European Commission to propose a Small Business Act (SBA) in order to provide binding guidelines and provisions tailored especially for SMEs and the “Think Small First” principle should be a guiding principle in all relevant legislation and law-making. Leitl and Verheugen also discussed the progress made in the fight against red tape: To support and stimulate the Commission’s „High Level Expert Group” for Better Regulation, the SME UNION together with EUROCHAMBRES and Jade - has set up a „Low” Level Group of real entrepreneurs.
More information |
| Bucharest, Romania, SME UNPR Conference on Transport and Infrastructure with PM Tariceanu |
On the eve of the conference, Thursday 27 September 2007 the guest speakers were invited to a dinner at the newly renovated PNTCD headquarters. Marian Petre MILUT, President of PNTCD, announced at the event the candidates of PNTCD for the European Parliament elections in the presence of Calin POPESCU-TARICEANU, Prime Minister of Romania and Emil Constantinescu, President Popular Alliance and former President of Romania with great media attention. On Friday 28 September 2007 the SME UNION of the EPP in cooperation with the National Union of Romanian Employers (UNPR) organized a Conference on the topic: Transport and Infrastructure in Romania: Enhancing infrastructure: Highway to prosperity.
Presentation Calin Popescu Tariceanu
Presentation Patrick Moulin
Presentation Roland Waeyaert
Presentation Liviu Ciobanu
Presentation Angelika Kostandinu
Presentation Mihnea Radu |
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