Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2004-04-22-Speech-4-148"
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"en.20040422.5.4-148"2
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".
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for about 99.8% of the enterprises in the European Union and about two-thirds of the employment. These companies, covering a broad spectrum of business areas, are thus vitally important for job creation and local/regional development, but they encounter certain difficulties, such as access to finance, which require an urgent solution. A policy of suitable support mechanisms directed at this broad sector is therefore needed.
The Growth and Employment Initiative (1998-2000), despite its shortage of funds and much publicity, had the objective of promoting job creation through support for SMEs. It was replaced with the Programme for Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (2001-2005), which introduced mechanisms providing guarantees and access to risk capital, such as the Joint European Venture (JEV), which is now being wound up, thereby jeopardising the EUR 42 million of unused funds.
The programmes aimed at SMEs need an injection of funds but also a change in objectives: they must promote job creation; support the formation of associations; support research and training; provide guarantees for all the critical phases in the life of a start-up company; improve the geographical spread of support (broadly concentrated in the countries in the centre of the European Union); and support not just high-technology companies but also traditional and craft enterprises."@en1
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