Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-08-Speech-1-212"
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"en.20100308.19.1-212"2
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"Mr President, although it is late, we are discussing a subject which, as was said a few moments ago, is extremely important. I have listened to everyone and I do not think that there is a single one of you who did not support the need to reduce the amount and complexity of administration burdening what we call ‘micro-entities’. I remind you – having checked this figure with my staff – that the proposal we are discussing could affect almost five million businesses in Europe.
I clearly heard Mr Karas and Mrs Ranner mention minimum requirements or minimum standards. I also noticed that Mr Lehne’s report does not rule out minimum requirements. We need time for that. We will see what we can do about that with the Council. I ask you to accept this report and proposal for what they are: concrete progress, a stage and a part of the operation which is needed so that the five million very small European businesses, and the millions of jobs they bring, can develop in the face of the current difficulties.
That is why I wish to take this opportunity to thank Mr Lehne and assure him that once Parliament has, hopefully, adopted the proposal, I will be able, and I am committed, to working very quickly with the Council to conclude the concrete and practical progress we have made to support the smallest businesses in the main European market.
Nevertheless, having heard you all speak, I notice that there are differences and disagreements over the schedule, Mrs Castex, and/or over how it is to be done. I would like to restate my conviction. I have declared before Parliament – when you requested that I appear before you – that the public, the consumer and primarily, as I have also stated before you, small and medium-sized entities, must reclaim the single market, that is, the European market.
That is why, with a great deal of determination, we can further improve this text during the dialogue that we are going to have with the Council. I think – as Mr Lehne said – that we need this operational sign. I was very aware that the Earl of Dartmouth paid a – fairly rare – compliment to the Commission. He said: ‘for once, the Commission is doing something’. I have noted your reasonable remarks. Now that we are going to have to work together, I hope to be able to show you that the Commission often does things that are reasonable, useful and concrete, and I still hope to convince you to support the efforts of the Commission more resolutely and more often. That is my frame of mind regarding this House: somewhat utopian, but in the end, I am not giving up on convincing you that the Commission does useful things, with the support and often at the request of Parliament.
Ladies and gentlemen, I think that this concrete, progressive and reasonable proposal offers a substantial simplification of the burden on the smallest businesses. This proposal will not abolish bookkeeping. It will not prevent businesses from transferring information needed by the various parties involved. It will not prevent anyone from following the provisions of the directive if they so wish. That is my clear response to the concerns expressed by Mr Sterckx.
This proposal will offer the possibility of adapting the rules for the publication of financial information at national and regional level. Accounting rules for very small businesses are better when adopted at the level at which they work; in other words, at local level.
Finally, I think that the timetable is very important. This proposal can be implemented quickly. It is an opportunity to help small businesses that must not be missed. I clearly heard Mrs Castex mention the other prospect: the commitment to carry out a future general review of the accounting directives. The deadline to which we are working – you said late 2010, but it will probably be early 2011 – is one that we do not wish to miss. I also clearly heard Mr Gauzès’s recommendation, which was both non-committal and clear. We will also make use of this tool of the general review of the accounting directives.
However, with your support, this does not prevent us from making the immediate progress which this proposal on micro-entities represents. We can then go further by making additional progress when we carry out a general review of the accounting directives. Let us not wait. This global review – I have told you, early 2011 – will take time.
I have noted the extremely accurate speeches many of you have made: Mr de Jong earlier, Mr Kariņš, Mr Feio, Mrs Swinburne, and others mentioned the crisis and economic difficulties that we are currently experiencing. Our calculations show that, if we manage to relaunch the internal market as President Barroso is attempting to do and – as is fundamental to my mandate – if we manage to make the internal market extremely effective and more fluid, we may find ourselves with additional growth of between 0.5% and 1.5% in Europe.
We can look for growth outside, in worldwide competition, but we will begin by finding it at home. I think – as the philosophy of Mr Lehne’s report shows – that a large part of this growth is to be found in the five million very small businesses in Europe, if we are happy to make their work easier. That is the philosophy behind this proposal."@en1
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