Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-03-09-Speech-1-156"
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"Madam President, I would like to thank everyone for a very interesting debate. First of all, I apologise on behalf of my colleague, Charlie McCreevy, who has an Ecofin commitment early tomorrow. His absence is due to preparations for that.
I want to remind you that we already targeted large public companies when we launched the proposal on the European company, and that SPE proposal was designed for SMEs. Employees’ information and consultation rights were dealt with in 2001, in the first directive on the European company.
Since 2002, we have had a general framework for informing and consulting employees in the European Union. There is no reason to disregard these rules and come up with a different solution in this current proposal on the SPE.
If workers’ collective rights are to be improved, which is our intent, this should not be done only in respect of one type of company, but through a more general initiative that also takes into account the different traditions in the Member States.
We have already made important progress in the evaluation of employees’ rights in the European company statute. Follow-up measures will be considered when the full assessment is completed in 2010.
Some points were made on why there was not more input into taxation and accounting. I would remind you that we do not have general legislative power on every issue. Legislative initiatives on company law, insolvency law, accounting and tax law are attached to very specific, and often restrictive, legal bases in our Treaties, and the existing Treaty hardly serves as a basis for a complete body of European business law.
Last but not least, I want thank you for a very open and constructive debate, and also for real cooperation on SME policy issues. I see many friends of SMEs here. The recommendations in the first report will be taken into account in the implementation of the action plan, and especially in all relevant issues connected to small businesses.
Concerning Mr Lehne’s report, a lot of work still needs to be done because we need to achieve agreement in the Council. We will need some time, especially in the light of unanimity, but your input can really soften the atmosphere and help to find real consensus and approval. We want to facilitate this progress and to put in place a statute which really helps European businesses.
On the cross-border transfer of registered offices, the Commission agrees that companies should be free to move their seat within the European Union, provided that the rights of shareholders, creditors and employees are guaranteed. We therefore need to strike the right balance between freedom of establishment and the interests of third parties.
I would conclude by saying that this is the European Year of Creativity and Innovation, and that it is very important to have an approach which brings forward the creative potential of our businesses. People are very important, not only because there is a crisis, but because there is no greater potential than that of human beings. Issues such as IPRs or the Community patent could in the near future be addressed through a more open-minded and open-hearted political approach. Europe could be more innovative and creative in supporting SMEs.
I wish to respond to some of the points raised. Part of the response lies in the overall process which we are driving together including, for example, the great political signals Parliament has sent to SMEs in 2009. These provide good encouragement, especially in a time of crisis, especially as we believe that SMEs have very high potential and that they deserve specific attention – mainstreaming, for example, the connection between education, training and SMEs.
I am pleased that, since 2007, we have been working together with DG Enterprise and Commissioner Verheugen on entrepreneurial education, which is very much needed in Europe and lags behind many other areas. I could quote many examples of good instruments – such as Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs – but do not want to speak on these just now. It is a process of many issues around access to finance. The EIB is now freeing up space and volume for credits: EUR 30 billion for SMEs, EUR 1 billion a year more for medium-sized corporations, and an additional EUR 1 billion for mezzanine financing.
We recently decided, as you know, to relax the rules on state aid, levering the
threshold to EUR 500 000, which means better conditions in general for more intensified state aid. This will also help facilitate subsidies for the production of green products.
Mr Karas spoke on the Small Business Act (SBA). Some Member States are already monitoring and reporting on SBA implementation. This was the case in 2008 and, starting in 2009, there will be annual assessment by Member States as part of all national reform programmes. We will therefore know more, and this culture of mainstreaming and support will grow.
On public procurement and SMEs, the Commission held vast consultations with stakeholders, including business organisations. One real problem lies with application of the rules by public buyers. We need more competition, more transparency and no discrimination, but the good news is that 42% of volume, above EU thresholds, is already going to SMEs in the European Union, which is really significant support.
Mr Wurtz spoke on the separation of registered offices and headquarters, and the problem of a potential erosion of employee participation. The separation of SMEs’ registered offices and headquarters is already general practice in half of the Member States, including those with very high standards of social policy safeguards. It ensures the flexibility companies need when doing business in more than one country.
Regarding the 30-day request by Mr Beaupuy, this should be dealt with in the proposal already in the pipeline on late payments, which should be adopted in the Commission before the end of the month.
The issue of consultations and worker participation has been much discussed here – and not only today. As part of its preparations, the Commission conducted, between July and October 2007, a public consultation on the potential SPE. Representatives of trade unions, including European trade unions, presented their views at conferences, especially during 2008. A major conference was held in March 2008, and we discussed these questions with experts from European trade unions several times that year. I want to underline one important thing, which is the legal basis. This is not Article 138, because we are not in the field of social policy, but Article 308, making it a different initiative based on unanimity of the Member States. There was no reason to launch a specific consultation under the former article."@en1
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