The Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton, returned to the package of support measures for SMEs, in a post published on Monday 19 September during the presentation of theSME relief package.
As announced by the President of the European Commission (see EUROPE 13021/6), Ursula von der Leyen, he said that he intends to revise the Late Payment Directive to create a “European standard of responsible conduct” for all businesses in the Single Market.
For example, he suggests the introduction of ceilings for business-to-business payments (as is done for the public sector), the strengthening of enforcement through sanctions and monitoring obligations. He proposes to create tools for SMEs to improve dispute resolution.
The Commissioner also mentions the creation of an Observatory on late payments, as announced in the SME strategy (see EUROPE 12431/11). In this respect, he indicated that a pilot project should take place in the construction ecosystem. The aim here is to obtain regular data on the phenomenon. “I also want to explore how digital tools could enable creditors to be paid as soon as an invoice is issued”, he said.
On simplification, the commissioner says the Commission wants to accelerate the pace of reviewing EU laws through the “Fit for Future” platform, announced in January 2020, which will examine the prospects for simplification and the potential of digital tools. On the digital issue, the Commissioner underlines the importance of the single digital gateway.
He added that he is currently working with the Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, on a single set of tax rules for “doing business” in the Internal Market.
Finally, the Commissioner is concerned about the current tightening of access to finance for SMEs. In this respect, he wants to examine the issue of public procurement and the potential contribution of the future European Sovereignty Fund (see EUROPE 13022/11). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)