Brussels, 19/04/2011 (Agence Europe) - The vice-president of the European Commission, Antonio Tajani (industry and enterprise) chaired last week's information meeting in Hungary with ministers for industry from the Competitiveness Council. At the end of their meeting, ministers backed measures to support SMEs in innovation, globalisation and funding access. Tajani said that he was pleased with the initiative adopted by the Commission on Wednesday 13 April to facilitate SMEs access to venture capital, as part of the measures taken to relaunch the internal market and make it more business friendly. The goal contained in the recent review of the Small Business Act (SBA) is that by 2012, venture capital funds operational in every EU country can be invested throughout the Union. “Venture capital funding”, explained the vice-president, is an effective means of supporting companies that want to develop and innovate. Tajani indicated the need for stronger SMEs in a more competitive Europe, capable of creating more jobs (in the EU, 2/3 of jobs are currently generated by SMEs). Their role is essential if the EUROPE 2020 strategy objectives are to be attained. (Gp./transl.fl)