24/04/2019 (Agence Europe) – SMEunited, which represents the interest of SMEs at European level, presents a mixed picture of progress in the internal market in a statement published on Tuesday 23 April. In addition to the many regulatory obstacles to the economic development of SMEs, the organisation notes another worrying phenomenon, that of late payments, which affects more than half of all companies, according to SMEunited. “Late payments put SMEs’ liquidity at risk and lead to a vicious circle where businesses receiving late payments are forced to engage in costly bank funding or themselves pay their sub-contractors late”, says President Ulrike Rabmer-Koller, who points the finger at both governments and large companies. For her, it is necessary to apply the European rules “correctly” in order to “level the playing field for SMEs”. (PH)