WRITTEN QUESTION No. 928/98 by Concepció FERRER to the Commission. Role of SMEs in the European Union
Date: 1998-03-26
Institutions: European Parliament, FERRER
Subjects: EU employment policy, European Regional Development Fund, European social policy, aid to undertakings, job creation, small and medium-sized enterprises, social dialogue, social partners, workers' representation

C 323/96

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

21. 10. 98

(98/C 323/141)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0914/98

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(26 March 1998)

Subject: Tinned tuna and bonito in agreements with third countries

Can the Commission provide information on the undertakings accepted with regard to imports of tinned tuna and
bonito under EU agreements with third countries, indicating the individual quantities by country of origin?

(98/C 323/142)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0915/98

by Daniel Varela Suanzes-Carpegna (PPE) to the Commission

(26 March 1998)

Subject: Semi-preserves of salted anchovies and anchovies in oil in agreements with third countries

Can  the  Commission  provide  information  on  the  undertakings  accepted  with  regard  to  imports  of  salted
anchovies and anchovies in oil under EU agreements with third countries, indicating the individual quantities by
country of origin?

Joint answer to Written Questions
E-0907/98, E-0908/98, E-0909/98, E-0910/98, E-0911/98,
E-0912/98, E-0913/98, E-0914/98 and E-0915/98
given by Mrs Bonino on behalf of the Commission

(30 April 1998)

Because of the length of the answer, which includes a number of tables, the Commission is sending it direct to the
Honourable Member and to Parliament(cid:146)s Secretariat.

(98/C 323/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-0928/98

by Concepcio· Ferrer (PPE) to the Commission

(26 March 1998)

Subject: Role of SMEs in the European Union

The Commission has recognized the decisive role played by small and medium-sized enterprises with regard to
the creation of jobs.

The annual report of the Court of Auditors for 1996 calculated that ECU 1 200 million are allocated each year to
actions in favour of small and medium-sized enterprises under the ERDF, and this large sum demonstrates the
importance of SMEs within the European Union.

Nevertheless, even though it recognizes the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises, the Commission
did  not  include  SME  representatives  in  the  work  of  drawing  up  guidelines  with  a  view  to  the  extraordinary
European Council on employment.

Will the Commission open the social dialogue to representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises in order
to make that dialogue more dynamic and adopt final measures which are more in tune with the actual situation
and interests of European Union citizens?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission

(14 May 1998)

The  importance  of  small  and  medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs)  for  economic  and  employment  growth  was
re-confirmed  by  the  Luxembourg  European  Council.  The  employment  guidelines  highlighted  the  need  to
improve  the  business  environment  in  favour  of  SMEs  and  to  involve  social  partners  in  the  implementation
process of these guidelines.