A3-0311/94

Resolution on the draft communication from the Commission to the Member States laying down the guidelines for operational programmes or global grants which they are invited to establish within the framework of a Community initiative concerning the adaptation of small and medium-sized enterprises to the single market (SMEs) (COM(94)0046 - C3-0134/94)

The European Parliament,

-having regard to the Commission's draft notice (COM(94)0046 - C3-0134/94);

-having regard to Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2082/93 which is the legal basis for Community Initiatives and the provisions that measures financed should be "of significant interest to the Community" and that "for a limited part of the appropriations available" the forms of assistance may cover areas outside those that are normally eligible ("flexibility");

-having regard to the code of conduct on the implementation of structural policies by the Commission where it is stated that the Commission 'will take Parliament's requests in to consideration whenever possible in order to take them in to account when deciding on each initiative',

-having regard to the Council Resolution of 22 November 1993 on strengthening the competitiveness of enterprises in particular of small and medium-sized enterprises and craft enterprises, and developing employment,

-having regard to the White Paper on "Growth, Competitiveness and Employment" and in particular to sections 2.6-2.9 on "Supporting the development of SMEs so as to make the internal market fully effective",

-having regard to its opinion of 20 April 1993 on the proposal for a Council decision on a multiannual programme (1994 to 1997) of Community measures to ensure the continuity of policy for enterprise, in particular SMEs, in the Community,

-having regard to the Green Paper on European Social Policy 'Options for Change', and in particular section III, B2,

-having regard to the Interinstitutional Agreement on budgetary discipline of 29 October 1993 and the financial perspective annexed thereto,

-having regard to its resolution of 28 October 1993 on the general budget of the European Communities for the financial year 1994: section III - Commission, and in particular paragraph 8 thereof,

-having regard to the general budget for the EU for the financial year 1994, in particular Article B2-140 and Chapter B0-40,

-having regard to the report of the Committee on Regional Policy, Regional Planning and Relations with Regional and Local Authorities and the opinions of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy, the Committee on Social Affairs, Employment and the Working Environment and the Committee on Women's Rights (A3-0311/94),

A.whereas SMEs (defined as firms with fewer than 250 employees) provide 60% of Community employment; whereas firms with fewer than ten employees generate just under 30% of Community employment,

B.whereas the White Paper refers to the need "to integrate SMEs more closely into the single market so as to underpin their competitiveness" by

"(i)the introduction of new financial facilities for SMEs,

(ii)support for cooperation between firms,

(iii)support for improvements in management quality,"

C.whereas the SMEs initiative has a specific and limited purpose, namely to prepare SMEs to compete in the single market and trade internationally, and is designed to complement expenditure under the Community support frameworks (CSFs) and the range of national and Community measures in favour of SMEs as well as other Community initiatives such as ADAPT and EMPLOY,

General comments

1.Welcomes the decision to establish a Community initiative to promote the adaptation of SMEs to the single market and the requirements of international trading; approves the seven priority topics, with the addition of a reference to encouraging the creation of jobs, and the list of operational measures set out in the Communication;

2.Nonetheless wishes priority to be given to the areas likely to influence the dynamism of the SMEs most directly, particularly the improvement of the tax and financial environment, support for cooperation between SMEs, access to new markets, and improvements in management quality and training systems;

3.Considers it desirable, given the limited amount of finance available, that the objectives of the initiative should not be widened;

4.Emphasizes the limited and temporary nature of this initiative and believes that its effectiveness will depend on its ability to respond to the specific and immediate concerns of the SMEs, particularly the smallest of them, and asks the Commission to indicate, in its report on the initiative, how it has taken these recommendations into account;

5.Encourages all Member States to use the provisions of Objective 4 in the promotion of continuous training, which is a prerequisite for successful strategies of industrial change;

Financial and geographical scope

6. Notes that the Commission proposes that some ECU 800 million of the total budget of ECU 1000 million should be spent in Objective 1 regions but has not stated whether the remaining funds should be limited to Objective 2 and 5b regions; believes that a degree of flexibility is appropriate as it is essential that part of the ECU 200 million available outside Objective 1 be used to foster contacts between SMEs in the less prosperous regions and in the core regions;

Range of measures

7.Points out that the measures offered in the draft notice are best suited to enhancing the position of medium-sized companies that are already players in the international market; does not disagree with this emphasis but urges that the needs of small companies with fewer than twenty employees should also be met by, for example, helping and encouraging them to take greater advantage of the business services that are currently available;

8.Would like the Commission and the Member States to select a more limited list of measures chosen on the basis of their rapid impact on the competitiveness of enterprises, such as cross-border cooperation measures and measures to highlight awareness of the intra-European dimension of markets, short training courses and apprenticeships, and measures to improve the liquidity and financing of enterprises;

9.Recommends the Commission to take greater account, in selecting and assessing the quality of programmes, of the innovatory aspect of projects, their direct impact on employment, and the involvement of several enterprises in the same projects, particularly when they link enterprises in different Member States or regions;

10.Agrees with the Commission that there should be a bias towards "soft" measures rather than infrastructure and underscores its call to Member States to present a balanced and internally consistent selection of measures, reflecting the circumstances of SMEs in their eligible regions, from the comprehensive list included in the draft notice;

11.Urges the Commission to take account of the need to encourage more employment of women in SMEs and to take account of their special training needs in the implementation of the SMEs initiative;

Global grants and intermediary bodies

12.Recommends that the Commission exercise care in selecting the most suitable intermediate bodies with which to cooperate in administering and distributing aid to SMEs; considers that, where no suitable intermediary body can be found in the public sector, the possibility of using private or semi-private organisations such as chambers of commerce, groupings of companies or development agencies should be available;

13.Urges that, wherever practicable, the system of global grants should be applied and intermediary bodies, close to the SMEs, rather than the bureaucracy of the Member States, should allocate aid so as to ensure its efficiency, transparency and additionality;

Definition of an SME

14.Proposes that "SME" should be defined, for the purposes of the initiative, as an enterprise which

-has no more than 250 employees,

-either has

an annual turnover not exceeding ECU 20 million, or

a balance sheet total not exceeding ECU 10 million,

-is not more than 25% owned by one or more companies not falling within this definition, except public investment corporations, venture capital companies or, provided no control is exercised, institutional investors,

and recommends that producer cooperatives should also be eligible to participate in the scheme;

15.Recognizes, however, that companies whose employees number between 250 and 500 may require assistance especially with regard to 'soft' measures and measures aimed at improving the internal organization and management of companies;

Exchange of experience

16.Approves the emphasis placed on exchange of experience between companies and points to the special value of exchanges between SMEs in the less prosperous peripheral regions and their counterparts in the more prosperous core regions; considers that the grant of aid to companies outside eligible regions should be made conditional on their entering in to network arrangements with SMEs in Objective 1 regions;

17.Believes that it would be valuable to arrange seminars to encourage exchange of experience between the public officials in the Member States concerned in the administration of aid to SMEs;

18.Underlines that it is essential, having regard to the complexity of the range of measures, that technical assistance be accorded priority; recommends that the Commission give close attention to determining the most appropriate form for such assistance drawing on experience gained in providing it effectively for similar programmes;

Access to finance and credit

19.Notes that the EIB is expected to play a part in complementing the initiative through, for example, lending under the temporary facility agreed at the Edinburgh and Copenhagen European Councils; urges the EIB to respond to this responsibility and to do more to make its lending facilities known to SMEs; recalls the difficulties that SMEs report in gaining access to affordable credit from the banking system and underlines the importance of giving SMEs access to seed and venture capital;

Reports

20.Asks the Commission to keep it regularly informed of the implementation of the initiative, including the amounts earmarked for each Objective, and, in particular, to send it a list of the intermediate bodies appointed by each Member State;

21.Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council and the governments of the Member States.