About us
The Directorate-General (DG) for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is the European Commission service responsible for:
- completing the Internal Market for goods and services;
- helping turn the EU into a smart, sustainable, and inclusive economy by implementing the industrial and sectorial policies of the flagship Europe 2020 initiative;
- fostering entrepreneurship and growth by reducing the administrative burden on small businesses; facilitating access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and supporting access to global markets for EU companies. All of these actions are encapsulated in the Small Business Act;
- generating policy on the protection and enforcement of industrial property rights, coordinating the EU position and negotiations in the international intellectual property rights (IPR) system, and assisting innovators on how to effectively use IP rights;
- delivering the EU's space policy via the two large-scale programmes Copernicus (European Earth observation satellite system) and Galileo (European global navigation satellite system), as well research actions to spur technological innovation and economic growth.
Who we are
DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is based in Brussels and has approximately 1,000 staff working under the political leadership of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska. The Commissioner is also the EU’s SME Envoy tasked with ensuring that all EU policies respect the 'think small first' principle. The DG is managed by Director-General Lowri Evans. Her work and the work of the DG as a whole is supported by the Chief Economist Team.
Under President Juncker, DGs work together to achieve cross-cutting objectives, led by the Commission Vice-Presidents. DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs contributes to the following project teams:
- Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness
- Digital Single Market
- Energy Union
- Euro and Social Dialogue
- Better Regulation and Interinstitutional Affairs
- Budget and Human Resources
The priorities of DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs
To promote growth in Europe, we work to:
- Ensure an open internal market for goods and services in the EU;
- Improve the range, quality, and competitiveness of products and services on the internal market;
- Strengthen the industrial base in Europe;
- Provide sector-specific and business-friendly policies;
- Promote industrial innovation to generate new sources of growth;
- Ensure a modernised system for public procurement, which provides better access to public contracts on an EU-wide basis;
- Encourage the growth of SMEs and promote an entrepreneurial culture;
- Support the internationalisation of EU businesses;
- Facilitate access to finance for SMEs;
- Support the free movement of professionals in EU;
- Support the development of global satellite-based navigation infrastructure and services (Galileo);
- Promote the use of EU earth observation-based services (Copernicus).
Enterprise Policy Group
Commission Decision C (2012) 4386 of 4 July 2012 has set up the group of experts on Enterprise and SME Policies
In order to get advise on enterprise, SME and industrial policies, the Commission has set up a group of experts called the 'Enterprise and SME Policies Group'.
The tasks of the group are:
- to advise for the preparation of legislative proposals as well as enterprise and industrial policy initiatives;
- to establish cooperation between Member States bodies and the Commission on questions relating to enterprise, SME and industrial policies to monitor the evolution of policy in the field of enterprise, in particular as regards SMEs;
- to bring about an exchange of experience and good practice in the field of enterprise, SME and industrial policy issues.
The group consists of two chambers; the 'Enterprise Policy Group' and 'The Network of SME Envoys'.
Enterprise Policy Group
The 'Enterprise Policy Group' consists of Directors Generals from Member States' public administrations who are responsible for industrial and enterprise policy issues.
The 'Enterprise Policy Group' meets 3 times per year. One of the meetings is a joint meeting with 'The Network of SME Envoys'.
The Commission may invite experts from outside the group with specific competence in a subject on the agenda to participate in the work of the group. In addition, the Commission may give observer status to individuals, organisations, EEA countries and candidate countries.
DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs' financial support
From 2014 to 2020, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is responsible for a budget of almost EUR 16 billion to implement:
- The Programme for Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, COSME. The COSME programme has a budget of EUR 2.3 billion to help enterprises access finance and markets, to promote entrepreneurship, and to support favourable conditions for business creation and growth.
- The Programme for Research and Innovation, Horizon 2020. This programme is related to space, raw materials, and innovation in SMEs, with a budget of EUR 2.3 billion.
- The Programme for Satellite Navigation, (Galileo/EGNOS), with a budget of EUR 7 billion.
- The Programme for Global Earth Observation (Copernicus), with a budget of EUR 4.3 billion.
External bodies
While DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs maintains policy control of its support programmes, financial management is largely taken care of by:
- the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) which implements the COSME programme and parts of Horizon 2020 relating to raw materials and innovation in SMEs;
- the Research Executive Agency (REA) which implements aspects of Horizon 2020 relating to space;
- the European GNSS Agency (GSA) which oversees the Galileo and EGNOS systems by monitoring security and promoting their use by EU citizens;
- the European Environment Agency (EEA) implements part of the Copernicus programme;
- the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA) implements part of the Copernicus programme;
- the European Foundation for Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND) implements part of the Pilot Project on the Future of Manufacturing;
- the European Defence Agency (EDA) implements part of the European Parliament Pilot Project on Common Security Defence Policy-related Research;
- the European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen) implements part of the Copernicus programme;
- the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (FRONTEX) implements part of the Copernicus programme.
In addition, independent bodies have been entrusted by DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs to implement certain programmes:
- the European Space Agency (ESA) implements the main parts of the Galileo and Copernicus programmes including the construction of space infrastructure;
- EUMETSAT implements parts of the Copernicus programme;
- the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) implements part of the Copernicus programme;
- Mercator Ocean implements part of the Copernicus programme;
- the European Investment Fund (EIF) implements part of the COSME programme called 'Financial Instruments'.
DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs also supervises certain regulatory agencies:
- the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) which implements the EU’s legislation on chemical products;
- the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) which is the trademark and designs registry of the European Union.
As part of the Commission's commitment to transparency, the Secretary-General publishes information on meetings held with organisations or self-employed individuals. Read more on information on meetings held by Director-General Lowri Evans .