Published : Thu, 02 May 2013

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) will drive the recovery in Europe, but they need improved and easy access to finance. Over the last few years the European Commission has been constantly working to improve their situation.

Published : Thu, 11 Apr 2013

Between 2008 and 2012, hourly labour costs in the whole economy have risen by 8.6% in the EU27 and by 8.7% in the euro area.

Over the next two years, 90% of world demand will be generated outside the EU. That's why it is a key priority for the EU to open up more market opportunities for European businesses by negotiating new Free Trade Agreements with key countries.

Published : Fri, 26 Oct 2012

You can share with us your thoughts and ideas on the issues related to industrial competitiveness

Published : Fri, 31 Aug 2012

The European Commission invites you to provide feedback on a Draft Guide on Human Rights and SMEs.

Published : Wed, 20 Jun 2012

The European Commission has launched a public consultation with the aim to gather inputs from stakeholders and citizens on the scope of possible future EU-level actions in demand-side policies for industrial innovation policy.

Published : Thu, 07 Jun 2012

On the occasion of the presentation of the CARS 21 report, the European Commission announced today concrete actions to be taken in reaction to the current economic situation: 1) providing EU financing for research, 2) smart regulation and 3) improving international market access.

Published : Tue, 29 May 2012

Europe is facing a severe economic crisis. But this situation and the changes are also an opportunity. We cannot let our industry simply leave Europe. It is a significant contributor to the real economy producing real values. Now, all efforts need to be undertaken to secure a modern, resource efficient, [...]

Published : Tue, 24 Apr 2012

Brussels 29/05 - José Manuel Barroso, Antonio Tajani, Jeremy Rifkin together with key European leaders and key CEOs will discuss on the steps needed to make Europe more innovative, catch up competitors and recover the path of robust and sustainable growth.

The Network of SME Envoys met yesterday in Brussels to discuss how to improve market access opportunities for the 23 million SMEs in the EU. The SME Envoys were particularly concerned by the low participation rate of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in public procurement. They supported the upcoming review of the [...]

Published : Wed, 28 Mar 2012

On the occasion of the third meeting of SME envoys in Brussels today, Vice President Antonio Tajani announced a series of new and updated initiatives to assist Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to go international.

This year’s entries for the European Business Awards for the Environment represent a variety of business sectors, ranging from telecommunications to retail, eco-design, transport, food industry and construction.

The Commission launched its 2012 edition of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards. It rewards the success of public bodies and public-private partnerships in promoting enterprise and entrepreneurship.

Published : Thu, 23 Feb 2012

The European Commission is funding a project “Networking for better Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) advice to Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) ” which fits into the European Commission’s objective to build a smart, sustainable and inclusive economy as laid out in the Europe 2020 Strategy.

Published : Tue, 07 Feb 2012

Almost all Member States have improved their innovation performance according to the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2011. However, innovation performance growth is slowing down and the EU is not closing the persistent gap with global innovation leaders US, Japan and South Korea.

Published : Mon, 16 Jan 2012

85% of net new jobs (1) in the EU between 2002 and 2010 were created by small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). This figure is considerably higher than the 67%-share of SMEs in total employment. During this period, net employment in the EU's business economy rose substantially, by an average [...]

The European Commission published today a study analyzing the important role small and medium sized enterprises play in creating more and better jobs. SMEs provide a vital contribution to the European economy, being responsible for more than two thirds of the total employment in the private sectors and 85% of [...]

Published : Tue, 10 Jan 2012

The European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry has announced the names of organisations that will implement important new European projects on business and human rights.

Published : Wed, 07 Dec 2011

The European Commission is presenting a strategy to promote better access to finance for SMEs with an EU Action Plan which includes increasing financial support from the EU budget and the European Investment Bank and a proposal for a regulation setting uniform rules for the marketing of venture capital funds.

The EU Action Plan to improve access to finance for SMEs presents the various EU policies and measures to make access to finance easier for Europe's 23 million SMEs. It covers actions to improve the venture capital market and facilitate access to financial resources. It contains also financial products to ease access [...]