Mr President, these excellent reports are perfect in their timing for no single commercial debate is more topical or crucial than one which enhances the future of small and medium-sized enterprises right across Europe. The importance of those businesses cannot be overestimated, nor overemphasized, accounting as they do for the creation of 75% of all new jobs.

My constituency of Northamptonshire and Blaby perfectly demonstrates the key role of SMEs in our local economy. Whereas our previous backbone industries of steel and footwear have seen a dramatic decline, the new industries which are filling the void there fall largely into the SME category. It is to those businesses that we must look for the future. And these reports give us a unique opportunity of helping them to more growth and prosperity.

Over-bureaucracy is an absolute bugbear to them and we have a clear choice and a clear chance within the Union: we either continue to strangle them to death with red tape, or we free them up by simplifying the procedures.

The welcome proposal for an integrated programme would give access to funding at levels undreamed of in Britain, with the EIB and business innovation centres performing pivotal roles.

But perhaps the one issue which fills my postbag and causes my phone to ring most frequently is the plea for help with late payment of bills. If the Commission can come up with an enforceable proposal to cure this problem, we should indeed be well on the way to success.

SMEs are the pillars of local economies and they give us the framework for the future prosperity of Europe: they are versatile, responsive and uniquely adaptable.

Lyndon Harrison has already reminded us tonight - but it is worth repeating - it may be a simplistic equation, but nonetheless the fact remains that currently there are 15 million unemployed and 15 million SMEs. One more job in each of those and we would indeed be achieving an absolutely splendid objective.