With its stated desire to present a specific strategy for SMEs, the new 'Ursula von der Leyen' Commission looks set to be a good opportunity for small and medium-sized enterprises, said SMEunited President, Ulrike Rabmer-Koller, in an interview with EUROPE on Tuesday 15 October. Now we need to seize the opportunity and make this strategy an operational action plan, according to the Austrian.
“We are fundamentally positive about her proposals”, said Rabmer-Koller, who was questioned by EUROPE about the President-elect's SME strategy. Explaining that this is a proposal that has been long-awaited “for many years”, the president of the employers' organisation now hopes that it will be translated into a “concrete action plan”.
However, there are concerns among SMEs. In addition to a concrete plan, the president expects adequate European funding specifically targeting SMEs. Starting with the InvestEU programme, the future instrument to support investment, which is a source of concern for the President. The budget line for SMEs would be lower than currently provided for in the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). SMEunited supports the European Parliament line (€12.5 billion for SMEs), whereas the Commission proposed €11.25 billion.
Another source of concern is the introduction of a “fair” minimum wage, as advocated by Ursula von der Leyen. “As a social partner, we really want (the minimum wage) to be negotiated between social partners at a national level”, she insisted, before adding that no threshold should be set in advance at a European level. It is, in essence, a question of setting this minimum wage to at least 60% of the national median wage.
When asked about the size of the Internal Market portfolio, which some MEPs said was too large (see EUROPE 12346/1), with the portfolio covering digital issues, the internal market, industry, space and defence, Mrs Rabmer-Koller seemed perplexed. “It's very, very broad”, she admitted, mentioning the possibility of transferring defence to another portfolio.
According to her, it is time to act. At the moment, “everyone is talking about SMEs, but there is no action taken”, she regretted, her words targeting the outgoing European Commission. Because there is a need, she asserts, recalling the trends shown by the autumn edition of the SME barometer (see http://bit.ly/2MgdBTb ), whose results, “although not as bad as expected”, remain worrying because of the current political environment, particularly the uncertainty surrounding Brexit.
Brexit will be on the minds of all the Heads of State and Government during the European Council (see other news). To them, the president says: “Think Small First”. For her, additional costs and red tape for SMEs should be avoided as much as possible. “Large companies will be able to adapt”, she said.
When asked about a possible solution to Brexit, Mrs Rabmer-Koller preferred not to venture. “It's very complicated”, she acknowledged, before recalling the key role of SMEs, which represent 99.8% of companies and constitutes on both sides of the Channel the "backbone" of national economies. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)