Eurochambres, which represents European chambers of commerce and industry, published a series of proposals on Monday 20 April for exiting from the current health crisis. Equally, SMEunited, which represents small and medium-sized enterprises, sent a letter to the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission, communicating its proposals ahead of the summit to be held between European leaders on Thursday 23 April.
There are many points in common between the requests made by the two organisations, starting with the need for Member States and non-Member States to work together and prepare a coordinated exit from the lockdown and restriction measures in place in the internal market. SMEunited emphasised the need for clear guidelines on health and safety at work.
The two organisations are also proposing, in light of the radical change in situation brought about by the pandemic, to review the industrial and SME strategies that were presented just a few weeks ago (see EUROPE 12443/7).
In any case, they are insisting on the need to facilitate access to finance for companies, with SMEunited citing the recent measures decided at a European level (see EUROPE 12465/2), including SURE, the European instrument to mitigate unemployment risks, as well as the Cohesion Policy (which should be more flexible, according to SMEs).
Both organisations are calling for a revision of the Late Payments Directive. They are also calling for administrative procedures to be simplified and digitised, with Eurochambres noting the Tallinn Declaration (see EUROPE 11878/13) as well as both being of the opinion that the Green Deal must remain the starting point for recovery, with SMEunited insisting that “feasibility” of the measures planned for SMEs hit by the crisis must be taken into account.
To consult the Eurochambres document: https://bit.ly/2XSTzED; and the letter from SMEunited: https://bit.ly/2RWCG84 (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)