European Parliamentary Research Service Blog
SME
Young Entrepreneurs [What Europe does for you]
Have you always wanted to be your own boss? You are not alone: around 44 % of young Europeans would like to set up their own business. Reality paints a different picture however: in 2011, only 4 % of 15-24 year-olds were self-employed. A lack of skills and funding are what usually get in the way. Continue reading
New technologies and regional policy: Insights for the next cohesion policy framework
These are some of the policy options for the legislator that emerged during the workshop organised by the Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) Panel of the European Parliament (EP) on 16 October 2017 in Brussels. Continue reading
How the EU budget is spent: Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME)
Written by Martin Svasek, COSME is the EU programme for the Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs). Allocated a financial envelope of EUR 2.3 billion for the 2014-2020 period, it is designed to improve SMEs’ access to finance and markets. It should also support entrepreneurship and provide more favourable conditions for business creation and … Continue reading
Barriers to SME growth in Europe
Written by Marcin Szczepański, Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which represent 99% of all businesses in the EU, play a pivotal role in its economy. Nevertheless, in comparison to larger firms, they often face significant obstacles – internal, administrative and financial – which affect them disproportionately. SMEs have been affected negatively by the economic crisis, … Continue reading
Crowdfunding – an alternative financing option for SMEs
Written by Agnieszka Widuto The economic and financial crisis has significantly reduced banks’ lending to businesses. This gap in financing, coupled with the rise of social media and interactive online platforms, has contributed to the increased popularity of crowdfunding as a possible alternative source of funding. In this context, the European Commission adopted a communication … Continue reading
Eurostars-2: support to research-performing SMEs
6 language versions available in PDF format Eurostars 2: Unterstützung für forschungstreibende KMU Eurostars-2: apoyo a las PYME que realizan actividades de investigación Eurostars-2: soutien aux PME actives dans la recherche Eurostars-2: sostegno alle PMI che effettuano attività di ricerca Eurostars-2: wsparcie dla MŚP prowadzących badania Eurostars-2: support to research-performing SMEs The Commission proposes to … Continue reading
Young Entrepreneurs
In the aftermath of the crisis, youth unemployment rates have reached new heights across Europe. In January 2014, 23.4% of young Europeans were without a job. Following an EU wide initiative, ‘youth guarantees’ are being implemented in many EU countries. At the same time youth entrepreneurship is moving into focus, as entrepreneurship is known to … Continue reading
Legal Initiatives for Business & Growth in the EU – In Focus
Developing strategies to foster economic growth, with a particular emphasis on SMEs, is one of the EU’s key priorities. In this thematic week we focus on legal initiatives currently on the table to aid business and economic growth in Europe. Streamlining legal rules regarding businesses activity Business law is the legal backbone of economic activity. … Continue reading
Cosme: boosting economic recovery by supporting small and medium sized enterprises
Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are identified to be key players in economic recovery. They are significant drivers in achieving the targets for growth and jobs set in the EU2020 strategy. However, without sufficient support in different stages of their life-cycle SMEs face challenges particularly in the fields of competitiveness and financing. COSME – … Continue reading
Women’s entrepreneurship in the EU
Female entrepreneurship is important to the European Union (EU) for both gender equality and economic growth. Yet, while women are catching up on labour markets, the gender gap in entrepreneurship is still wide. In 2012, women made up only 31% of self-employed European citizens, and only 10% of working women are self-employed. Entrepreneurship appears to … Continue reading
Improving SMEs’ access to finance
6 language versions available in PDF format Verbesserung des Zugangs zu Finanzmitteln für KMU Mejorar el acceso a financiación de las PYME Faciliter l’accès des PME au financement Migliorare l’accesso delle PMI ai finanziamenti Ułatwianie dostępu małych i średnich przedsiębiorstw do źródeł finansowania Improving SMEs’ access to finance SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) are important … Continue reading
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