The Commission has formally endorsed a new Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance, with the aim of scaling up manufacturing technologies of innovative solar photovoltaic products and components. This will contribute to accelerating the deployment of solar power across the EU and improving the resilience of the EU's energy system.

The Commission has launched a call for evidence and a public consultation in preparation of the European Critical Raw Materials Act. A secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials is key for the green and digital transition as well as for the EU's security.

DG GROW has launched a call for evidence and public consultation on a proposal for a legislative initiative on cross-border activities of associations. Feedback from stakeholders will be collected until 28 October.

On 26-27 September, more than 500 persons from 40 countries participated onsite in the 8th EU Cluster Conference in Prague. The objective of the event was to reinforce the role of clusters in the implementation of the updated EU Industrial Strategy to lead the green transition, implement the digital transition and build resilience. Cluster representatives discussed how emerging clusters and mature clusters could support each other and their different policy needs.

On 21 September, the Commission hosted the 5th meeting of the Industrial Forum, which gathers experts who help the Commission implement the EU's Updated Industrial Strategy. Due to skyrocketing energy prices, the discussion focused on energy measures, synergies with defence, green & digital transition in key ecosystems and strategic dependencies.

On 11-12 October, the 2022 European Angel Investment Summit facilitated 30 start-ups to pitch with investors and enabled over 200 one-to-one meetings between companies, investors and policy makers. During the Summit the Commission signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a cooperation between the InvestEU Portal and the European Business Angel Network.

On 28 September, the Commission adopted a proposal to adapt product liability rules to the digital age, circular economy and new global value chains. The updated rules are designed to ensure that consumers have effective access to compensation when products, including smart products and artificial intelligence (AI), cause harm, and to give businesses legal certainty so they can invest in new and innovative products across the EU.

The purpose of the updated standardisation regulation is to strengthen and modernise the governance of the European standardisation system. Standards give confidence that a product or a service is fit for purpose, is safe, and will not harm people or the environment. Compliance with harmonised standards guarantees that products placed on the single market are in line with EU law.

On 17 October, the Commission launched a call for applications for the High-Level Forum on European Standardisation. The forum’s key tasks will be to help set priorities, advise on future standardisation needs and contribute to the EU's role as a global standard-setter. The call for applications is open until 14 November.

SOLVIT was created in 2002 as a network of national centres designed to help businesses and citizens to overcome cross-border issues. It is an online, free-of-charge service operating in all EU countries, as well as in Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It provides a way to remove obstacles that still hold our small companies back. This report celebrates 20 years of SOLVIT and shows how it is developing into a multi-faceted single market tool.

On 26 September 2022 the Commission adopted the report on the implementation of the Single Market Transparency Directive (SMTD) showing that Member States are becoming more transparent in adopting national technical regulations for products and information society services. We asked Francesca Stefania Condello, Legal Officer from DG GROW's Notification of regulatory barriers unit, who is the face behind this report and in charge of this exercise since 2019, speaks to us about the importance of transparency principles for the Single Market and where she sees the trends in the notification procedure.

On 20 September, Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for the Internal Market, participated in a policy dialogue with young people on the topic "Entrepreneurship". This event took place in the framework of the 2022 European Year for Youth (EYY). The participants shared the challenges they face when starting a new business but also spoke about the need for cooperation with big players already active in the EU market.

On 10 October 2022, Commission President von der Leyen, Commissioner Thierry Breton – together with Commissioner Johannes Hahn in charge of the Budget and other high-level speakers - participated in the 2022 edition of the Annual EU Budget Conference. During the panel “Investing in deterrence – a budget for security and defence”, Commissioner Breton explained the key role of the EU budget amidst the Russian aggression and pushed for a reinforced European strategic autonomy in the area of security and defence, in the name of a stronger and more resilient Union. The recording of the event is available here, while photos can be seen here and here.

The Commission has launched the EU tourism dashboard, a new tool to help policy makers at national and regional level to steer policies and strategies in the tourism sector. It aims to improve access to statistics and policy-relevant indicators for tourism, in particular supporting destinations and public authorities in tracking their progress in the green and digital transition.

Most industrial ecosystems have suffered significant shocks from the recent health and economic crises and the ensuing restrictions. Discover the results of Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs’ analysis on how the approved national plans contribute to recovery for a number of industrial ecosystems. You will find estimates as well as some striking examples of measures taken by EU countries in each area.

Read the latest developments of DG GROW's analysis of supply chains disruptions related to the Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

Yesterday, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) - the world’s largest support network for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), opened its annual three-day conference in Prague. Through a range of workshops and networking sessions, participants will be able to discuss new EU policies relevant to SMEs, exchange best practices and build synergies as well as reflect on improving the quality and visibility of EEN services. For the live streaming of the opening session of the conference, please click here.

Don't miss the opportunity to follow DG GROW's side-events during this year's COP27.
9/11/2022 - Sustainability funding under InvestEU: supporting greener business practices
10/11/2022 - The Critical Raw Material Act
10/11/2022 - Presentation of the Solar Photovoltaic Industry Alliance
17/11/2022 - Local Green Deals – Implementing global ambitions at the local level

The EU Single Market is about to enter a new era of promoting investment in innovation. The long-awaited arrival of the Unitary Patent and the Unified Patent Court, set to become operational in early 2023, will boost the development and trade of IP-intensive goods and services, spark up FDI flows and facilitate the scaling-up of European innovative SMEs. The conference is organised to mark this milestone in the completion of the EU’s single market for innovation.

The EU FINANCE DAYS are organised by the European Commission and implementing partners to present new financial and support programmes such as InvestEU, Single Market Programme and the European Innovation Council to businesses and relevant stakeholders. Join us at the next EU FINANCE DAY targeting Romania on 23 November. Registration here.

On 24 November, DG GROW alongside DIGITAL SME will host an award ceremony for the winning solutions of the Get Digital competition. Startups/SMEs from across industrial ecosystems will showcase innovative models at the intersection of the digital and green transition. Join the workshop and get inspired.