SMEunited calls on the European Commission to “think small first and act accordingly” ahead of the adoption of the “Small Midcap Omnibus” tomorrow. The association insists that such a new company category should not have any negative impact on small and medium sized enterprises – in particular micro-enterprises in Europe.
SMEunited reiterates that the creation of a small midcap category should not impact negatively in any way SMEs and in particular earmarked funding for SMEs. This must be the case for the current funding period and should also be guaranteed for the future, especially concerning ongoing preparations for the next Multi-Annual Financial Framework. SMEunited insists on this last point. If funding programmes for SMEs should be diluted, this would create massive mistrust and impede growth for a large number of SMEs.
Additionally, the tailored approach for the small midcaps would be built on a limited list of provisions of preferential SME treatment. We would like to stress that the potential introduction of a small midcap category should serve as a step in the think small first approach, allowing a company to grow step by step – in particular concerning regulatory requirements. While developing a growth path, a company should be able to use a ladder to take steps to grow, instead of being overwhelmed by regulatory burdens the moment they cross a certain threshold.
SMEunited insists the European Commission must now focus on providing relief for the smallest companies in Europe, who feel suffocated by regulatory demands. Micro enterprises ask objectives are set and then trust is given to entrepreneurs to comply in a way that works best for them, instead of being forced to comply with over-prescriptive legislative demands.
Europe accounts for 25.85 million companies, 24.209.297 are micro-enterprises, with less than 10 employees, another 1.387.888 are categorised as small – having between 10-49 employees, 210.551 are medium-sized enterprises employing between 50-249 workers . Finally, we have a group of 43.420 large companies, out of around 38.000 will now be categorised as “small midcaps” having a maximum of 750 employees.
