The Small Business Act (SBA), we would like to remind you, is the European Union’s main policy initiative in support of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up 99.8% of European companies and provide over 67% of jobs.
The SBA aims to emphasize the importance of SMEs as drivers of the economy and local and regional well-being. It is based on 10 fundamental principles to enhance SME initiatives at the European level, from which concrete actions derive to support businesses by improving the regulatory, administrative, and economic environment.
The ten identified principles are as follows:
- Encourage and reward entrepreneurial spirit.
- Enable honest entrepreneurs who have experienced insolvency to quickly obtain a second chance;
- Formulate rules in accordance with the principle of “think small first”;
- Make public administrations more sensitive to the needs of SMEs, simplifying SMEs’ lives as much as possible, in particular by promoting e-government and one-stop-shop solutions;
- Adapt public policy interventions to the needs of SMEs;
- Facilitate SME participation in public procurement and make better use of State aid possibilities for SMEs;
- Ease SMEs’ access to credit and develop a legal and economic framework that promotes timely payments in commercial transactions;
- Help SMEs benefit from the opportunities offered by the single market by improving governance and information on single market policies, facilitating SMEs’ access to patents and registered designs;
- Promote skills development in SMEs and all forms of innovation;
- Enable SMEs to turn environmental challenges into opportunities.
The Commission emphasizes that the implementation of the SBA is an ongoing process requiring joint commitment from the EU and Member States to create an increasingly favorable environment for the development and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises, which are an essential engine of the European economy.
