About us | Sisämarkkinat, teollisuus, yrittäjyys ja pk-yritystoiminta

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

Watch a video overview of our activities.

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 Timo Pesonen. His 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:

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.

The Network of SME Envoys

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 €16 billion to implement:

The Programme for Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, COSME. The COSME programme has a budget of €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 €2.3 billion.
The Programme for Satellite Navigation, (Galileo/EGNOS), with a budget of €7 billion.
The Programme for Global Earth Observation (Copernicus), with a budget of €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 Timo Pesonen.

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