Future of Europe: SMEs want Scenario for Growth, Jobs and Stability

18 October 2017
by UEAPME -- last modified 19 October 2017

At the Tripartite Social Summit on shaping Europe’s future, and following the commitment to contribute to the debate, President Ulrike Rabmer-Koller put forward UEAPME priorities for the Future of Europe.

In order to rebuild SME trust in the European project, UEAPME developed an SME scenario with its members, built on the expectations of Crafts and SMEs. This scenario aims at growth, jobs and welfare in a stable economic, social and political environment and, as the expectations cannot be delivered by one particular scenario of the White Paper, is an alternative that combines elements of the White Paper scenarios.

Commenting on the scenario put forward by UEAPME, President Rabmer-Koller said "The UEAPME scenario reflects the fact that SMEs expect the debate to aim for progress as regards three dimensions: improving the conditions for growth and job creation, improving fairness for carrying out business within the single market and globally, and ensuring a stable political and societal environment."

For this, the future Europe has to be able to better deliver on: making the EU more competitive and more attractive for private investments, ensuring a fair distribution of positive effects of globalisation and technological developments, guaranteeing openness and fairness within the single market, improving the functioning of economic governance and the stability of the Euro area, recognising the interests of SMEs in the next Multiannual Financial Framework, and an active approach to tackle the challenges of refugees and migrants.

Additionally, on the social dimension and the Pillar of Social Rights, the first priority remains to better combine the economic and social dimensions. This requires higher competitiveness and well-functioning labour markets. The increase of self-employment, expectations of young people and development of new business models should not be considered as a negative trend but more as a chance. "We have to recall that self-employed are entrepreneurs" insisted President Rabmer-Koller. Also against this background she asked Member States to assess, with Social Partners, whether the social protection systems are still adequate.

On the future of social dimension, Ms Rabmer-Koller stated that "UEAPME considers that doing more together in a more effective way should be limited to areas where there is real European added value and where unilateral measures have a negative impact on the single market and on the necessary convergence."

UEAPME is the employers' organisation representing Crafts and SMEs from the EU and accession countries at European level. UEAPME has 64 member organisations covering about 12 million enterprises with 55 million employees. UEAPME is a European Social Partner.

UEAPME – the European craft and SME employers' organisation