27/03/09 | SMEs and entrepreneurship

Enterprise policy and the European elections

In the first week of June 2009(1), around 375 million voters across the 27 European Union Member States have the chance to vote on who they want to see represent them in the European Parliament for the next five years. In the EU's only directly elected institution, the Parliament's Members (MEPs) are the representatives of almost 500 million EU citizens in the EU's law-making process.

The Parliament is the Union's joint law-maker, alongside the Council (made up of representatives of each Member State's government), in the so-called co-decision procedure used to adopt the majority of EU legislation. MEPs can, and do, vote to amend the European Commission's legislative proposals, and proposals can only come into law when Parliament and Council agree on the complete text. Who you, and your fellow citizens, elect as MEPs therefore has a direct impact on future EU laws.

Issues to address

EU policies and legislation cover a wide range of issues directly relevant to industry, to enterprises and to entrepreneurs. Enterprise & Industry magazine asked several MEPs from the outgoing Parliament what they believe were the Union's biggest achievements in the enterprise field over the past five years, and what they see as the key challenges for the coming five.

According to Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, a German Liberal, who drafted Parliament's report on the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, "creating awareness and momentum for the needs of SMEs was the most important achievement in the last five years, especially the appointment of a special envoy [for SMEs] by Commissioner Verheugen, and discussions on the 'Small Business Act'". In the next Parliamentary term, he emphasises: "SMEs suffer more than others from red tape. Here, we need concrete steps to lift several bureaucratic burdens."

Edit Herczog, a Socialist from Hungary, drafted the European Parliament's report on the Small Business Act. "The 'Small Business Act' opened up the way for unrestricted growth of SMEs by entrenching the 'Think Small First' principle in policy-making at all levels. …Small and medium-sized enterprises have for some time been recognised as the backbone of EU economy. We should also call on the Member States swiftly to transpose and implement the Services Directive, paying special attention to the interests of SMEs. That is the way to strengthen our European economy and market."

Looking to the next five years, she says, "I consider information and communication technology and the digital turnover as an integral part of development and prosperity of the European economy and of the whole society. I believe that Europe's role is to stand for a strong knowledge-based society. Therefore we need to be ready for the digital switchover by creating the best European environment for that, by continuing to give strong support for European enterprises, especially SMEs, and by building a powerful and co-operative transatlantic market."

Heidi Rühle, a Green MEP from Germany, says that, "We have been particularly keen to improve surveillance and control procedures in order to enhance product safety and quality, taking into account environmental impact. This issue was central in the 'goods package' but also for example in the new Directive on toy safety. We have also welcomed the Directive on unfair commercial practices, in order to protect consumers better, in particular the most vulnerable ones. The agreement on the Ecodesign Directive and the adoption of first implementing measures on standards for environmental performance have also been significant accomplishments."

For the next five years, "The biggest challenge for EU enterprise policy will be to contribute in managing the conversion of European industry towards sustainability. This is necessary to cope with the environmental and climate change challenges, and also to safeguard business chances in the new Green industrial revolution. Attention has to be paid [to ensure] that the new Services Directive does not lead to social and environmental dumping. I would in particular welcome a systematic earmarking of funds for SMEs, as was achieved in the research programme thanks to the Greens."

French Christian Democrat, Jacques Toubon, who drafted Parliament's report on the Single Market Review, says the biggest achievement "is the Services Directive, which allows establishment, facilitates cross-border provision of services, and enhanced quality services, establishes a system of administrative co-operation between Member States and strengthens the rights of users of services. In addition, it fully respects the social rights of workers and preserves national legislation on a huge number of issues. In the meantime, this Directive can be an effective tool to help modernise national legal frameworks, eliminate barriers to the Internal Market for services and help achieve the Lisbon goals. It is a masterpiece of the Internal Market."

In the next five years, he underlines the need to create "an industrial policy based on innovation, with emphasis on the need to quickly conclude negotiations on the Community patent! In addition, we need to encourage the growth of European small and medium-sized enterprises by implementing the Small Business Act; by placing the 'Think small first' principle at the heart of Community policies through a binding instrument."

It's your choice

In the coming years, the EU will be continuing its efforts to make Europe a supportive business climate, to create better jobs for its citizens, to respond to challenges such as globalisation, environmental degradation and depletion of natural resources, including energy sources. Moreover, the Union will be acting to assist economic recovery after the current economic slowdown. MEPs will be taking decisions on these and many other important areas, so find out the candidates' positions and have your say on the policies we need, by voting.

(1) The elections take place between 4 and 7 June, depending on the Member State. Results are declared after the polls have closed in all Member States on 7 June.

The text only of the articles can be republished as long as the source of the article is quoted: Enterprise & Industry magazine (http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/magazine/index_en.htm), © European Union, 2008 - 2012