Debate: A new strategy for European SMEs
Date: MONDAY, 14 DECEMBER 2020
Speaker: Adina-Ioana Vălean
Language: EN

We agree that SMEs have been hit particularly hard by the COVID crisis. A recent study by a SMEunited indicates that more than 90% of SMEs have reported a decrease in turnover as a result of COVID and about two thirds have reported delayed investment decisions or downsized investments. This can have devastating effects on employment. As you know, the EU institutions have not been silent observers to the crisis. On the contrary, the Commission took decisive steps immediately and addressed liquidity problems of SMEs, provided practical advice and information via support services such as the Enterprise Europe Network and supported governments to exchange best practices via the SME Envoy network. Moving now from initial short-term relief to economic recovery, the SME strategy becomes the reference tool of support. A Eurobarometer survey released on 23 September confirmed the relevance of the three pillars of the strategy: capacity-building and support for the twin transition; reducing red tape and improving market access to the single market and beyond; and last but not least, improving access to finance. Adopted just before the pandemic hit the EU with full force, the SME strategy is flexible enough to adapt to the new reality. Implementation of most actions has started and many have been adjusted. Furthermore, the Commission is pushing the effectiveness of the Late Payment Directive to improve SMEs’ liquidity. Activities will focus in the short to medium term on particularly affected ecosystems such as tourism. Under the Enterprise Europe Network the Commission is helping SMEs respond to the crisis by creating partnerships among them. It is also providing information to SMEs and supporting innovation, including through the European Innovation Council. The Enterprise Europe Network will be enhanced to provide advice on sustainability to SMEs and it will work closely with digital innovation hubs to provide a seamless service of advice to SMEs at local and regional level. Our commitment to SMEs does not end with the SME strategy. Small businesses are mainstreamed into most EU policies – for example the Green Deal, the industrial strategy, the single market action plan – and will specifically consider SMEs’ needs when updating the industrial strategy. They are also firmly anchored in our better regulation agenda. We systematically screen our legislative proposals for their impact on SMEs. Such analysis is mandatory and carried out in a proportionate way for every new proposal. A similar systematic approach to reviewing the impact of amendments to legislative proposals on SMEs might be considered by the co-legislators. The EU’s crisis response and the SME strategy support European SMEs in a complementary way. This is why it is imperative that the recovery package and the SME strategy go hand in hand. SMEs must benefit from investment and reforms funded under the recovery and resilience facility, which is why the Commission is working with Member States to address their needs in their national recovery and resilience plans. The upcoming InvestEU Programme will provide crucial recovery-support to all types of companies, including traditional SMEs. It will place a strong focus on key policy priorities such as the Green Deal objectives and digitalisation. The overarching idea of InvestEU is to simplify today’s diverse landscape of financial instruments and to streamline operations. We agree that SMEs would benefit from a single digital entry point for all enquiries on EU financing opportunities for them. The access-to-finance.eu website already offers such a service. We recognise the essential role of banks in financing the European economy, notably small and medium-size enterprises. We have seen how banks have been part of the solution during the COVID crisis and we are building and reinforcing the various pillars of the banking union. At the same time, improving the possibilities for SMEs to tap into capital markets is also essential. The capital markets union initiative aims at widening SMEs’ access to alternative channels of funding such as equity. The Commission is also setting up the SME initial public offerings fund that will in particular seek to support SMEs’ access to public markets for financing. We welcome the Capital Markets Union recovery package as an important step to increase SMEs’ visibility towards investors. We share the call for more female entrepreneurship: InvestEU will help stimulate investment in female-led companies and funds to increase the talent pool and innovation. Global markets are already an important source of growth for SMEs. Small businesses represent 88% of all EU exporters, they account for one third of all EU exports supporting more than 30 million jobs. We will continue to focus on supporting SMEs in the recovery phase. The launch of the new Access2Markets portal is an important step forward to help them. In the medium term, the portal will work in synergy with other information portals and databases for businesses, notably the matchmaking portal of the Enterprise Europe Network and the single digital gateway which will provide integrated information sources and support for European businesses. Thank you for listening to me. I’m looking forward to listening to you.