Consulting SMEs

The policy-making process in the European Union sees legislative proposals from the Commission debated both by Members of the European Parliament and by representatives of Member States' governments within the European Council. And in general, the Commission consults with interested parties both formally and informally before it draws up its proposals, such as the Small Business Act for Europe. So there are opportunities for those affected (or potentially affected) by policy to make their views known at several stages in the process.

For SMEs - often the largest group of enterprises to be affected by new policy - there are clear difficulties in putting their views across to policy-makers. SMEs do not usually have the resources which large firms dedicate to influencing policy-making or lobbying. For this reason, the Commission has appointed an SME Envoy and encourages an effective and wide-ranging consultation of SMEs as one element of its Think Small First principle.

The Commission is also encouraging Member States and regions to adopt similar measures, ensuring greater representation of SME interests at all levels of policy-making. To this end, it has sought to identify and share examples of effective SME consultation and involvement in policy-making.