Brussels, 18/12/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Association of Craft and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (UEAPME) and the Europe Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Eurochambers) have lambasted the report published by the European Commission on Tuesday 15 December 2009 claiming that introduction of the EU's 'Small Business Act' is progressing well. “First of all, it is a very short and superficial document that amounts to little more than self-gloss by the Commission. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, it shows that only a handful of member states have acted in a comprehensive manner, while most cherry-picked a few points and got away with it. All we have is a few examples from a few countries on a few issues. We are very, very far from where we should be one year after the adoption of the Small Business Act,” explained UEAPME secretary general Andrea Benassi in a press release. Similar views were expressed by Eurochambers. “Although Christmas is the season for giving, we are nonetheless very surprised by the Commission's excessively positive assessment of member state progress, which contradicts feedback from the European Chamber network. The Commission has an important responsibility to remind everyone involved of the scale of the challenge and to highlight the significant shortfalls in member state delivery,” commented Eurochambers' secretary general Arnaldo Abruzzini in a press release. (M.B. trans fl)