Brussels, 09/01/2013 (Agence Europe) - Commissioner Tajani's plan to revive the EU's flagging real economy is packed with measures to increase the number of entrepreneurs, by tapping into an unexploited reserve of human resources, in particular young people and women.
Given stagnating growth and ever increasing, the European Commission believes that business creation is one opportunity amongst others, such as the re-industrialisation of the EU, which is also the subject of a comprehensive action plan presented in October 2012 (see EUROPE 10707), to get the EU out of crisis. New businesses, particularly small and medium-sized ones, SMEs, are the main source of job creation in Europe (4 million jobs a year). The Commissioner with responsibility for industry, Antonio Tajani is unstinting in his efforts to seek solutions to relaunch the real economy. On Wednesday 9 January, Commission Vice-President Tajani presented an action plan to support entrepreneurs and breathe new life into the culture of entrepreneurship in Europe.
Although he stressed the vital role of education and training, his plan contains specific measures to help young people, women, the elderly, migrants and the unemployed wishing to set up their own businesses. It also tackles obstacles to entrepreneurship, by means of measures to stimulate business creation and facilitate transfers, but also to improve access to funding and give honest entrepreneurs a second chance after bankruptcy. "Becoming an entrepreneur and making a vision come true takes a lot of personal risk and effort. Entrepreneurs are the heroes of our time. Entrepreneurship is also the most powerful driver of economic growth in economic history. Therefore, we want to make entrepreneurship an attractive and accessible prospect for European citizens. If we can unleash Europe's entrepreneurial potential, we can bring back growth to Europe", said Tajani.
Entrepreneurial education is the priority field of action in the Commission's plan. Between 15 and 20% of students who take part in mini-company programmes in secondary school will go on to start their own businesses, a figure that is about 3 to 5 times that of the general population, according to the European executive, which believes that entrepreneurial education in higher education constitutes a tool to boost the development of high-tech and high-growth companies.
The action plan also covers six key areas where action is needed to create an environment in which entrepreneurs can flourish and grow. Improving access to finance (via the creation of a European micro-finance market and a simplification of the tax systems) and reducing red tape are key, as in all of the Commission's strategies for growth. The European executive also argues for reinforcing member states' support to businesses in the crucial phases of their life cycle; the capitals will help companies to get through their first five years of trading, a period during which 50% of businesses fail, by means of management training, R&D coaching and networking with peers, potential suppliers and clients. Businesses should also be encouraged to embrace information and communication technologies (ICT), allowing them to develop between two and three times more quickly. The Commission also hopes to make transfers of business ownership easier, as approximately 150,000 of the 450,000 companies which changed hands every year go out of business; it is proposing to expand the markets for companies and remove barriers to cross-border business transfers. Lastly, the Commission is proposing to shift the focus of the rules away from liquidation and towards helping businesses overcome financial difficulties, to offer a second chance to honest entrepreneurs who go bust.
Commissioner Tajani''s action plan also seeks to promote entrepreneurship in specific sections of the population, particularly women (who represent just 34.4% of the self-employed in Europe), senior citizens (by stimulating the transfer of the knowledge of retired business people to the younger generation) and immigrant populations (by offering populations often faced with difficulties in the labour market a precious opportunity for their economic empowerment and social inclusion). For the unemployed, he proposes business development support including training and mentoring.
The Commission's initiative is based, amongst other things, on the results of a Eurobarometer study on entrepreneurship, which showed that 37% of Europeans would like to be their own boss. Various obstacles prevent Europeans from taking this step, particularly the fear of bankruptcy and the risk of irregular income. (EH/transl.fl)