Mr President, I also welcome the opportunity to speak here this evening on these two very important communications from the Commission.

There is now a general perception that SMEs have not benefited from the creation of the internal market to the fullest possible extent. As has been pointed out, 97.5% of all workers in the European Union are employed in companies that employ less than 500 workers, and in Ireland, where I come from, a firm with 500 workers would be considered a very large firm.

The importance of SMEs is now being acknowledged - and rightly so. This issue ties in very well with the current debate on the Delors White Paper on employment. But I can tell you that the 15 million new jobs that are being spoken about so often will not be created without small and medium-sized enterprises. I know what I am talking about because less than three years ago I myself was instrumental in setting up a small business, and although I have now severed my links with that business, it still exists and two people are employed full-time there. I am delighted to have been able to make that contribution.

The Commission's proposals represent a pragmatic and realistic response: they correctly identify the core problems faced by SMEs such as raising finance, late payments, administrative burdens, an unwillingness to expand and the unequal tax treatment facing one-person business and partnerships as opposed to companies with share capital.

The communications outline appropriate remedies at this stage and pay proper respect to the principle of subsidiarity. I particularly welcome the calls for better support systems for small and medium-sized enterprises and for the opening-up of public contracts to these enterprises.

There may be a need for further action if things do not improve. For example, we could consider European action on the black economy and tax evasion. I also welcome the decision of the Economic Affairs Committee to hold a public hearing on the administrative burdens facing small and medium-sized enterprises, most of which are imposed by national parliaments not by Brussels.