Mr President, I very much welcome these reports because they go right to the very heart of the most important political issue that we as European Parliamentarians and as European Union citizens are facing, and that is unemployment. The White Book gave us the challenge to create 15 million new jobs in the European Union by the year 2000.

These two reports really strike at the very heart of how we go about creating those jobs. Small and medium-sized companies are the bedrock and the touch-stone of our employment creation policies.

I can also assure you that these reports will be of great interest to my own Parliamentary constituency of Midlands West because at this very time next week, on 31 October, I will be discussing these reports with the Dudley Chamber of Commerce who have issued a challenge to me to tell them about how Europe can help their small and medium-sized enterprises grow.

I know from personal experience how difficult it can be for small and medium-sized companies but also what great opportunities they present for job creation because my father was for many years a small company in his own right. The White Book shows us the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises to creating jobs. The temporary committee of this House is talking all the time about small and medium-sized enterprises and how they can create jobs. We have the Commission making proposals; the EMAC Committee is discussing these reports; and here this evening Parliament itself is discussing these very important reports.

These reports show that if the European Union can help small and medium-sized companies to succeed, then those small and medium-sized companies will help us in the European Union to respond to that great political challenge we face and create those 15 million new jobs by the year 2000.