31/03/25 (Agence Europe) – On Monday 31 March, SMEunited, the representative body for SMEs in the EU, published its SME Business Climate Index, which shows that the situation for SMEs deteriorated at the start of 2025. The index fell by 2.1 points compared with the second half of 2024, mainly due to low household demand, high borrowing costs and high energy prices. Since the index remains slightly above the critical threshold of 70, SMEs are facing stagnation rather than recession, explains SMEunited. The organisation also reveals a gap in the business climate between the countries of Northern and Southern Europe. The latter benefit from a better environment for SMEs, according to the index. The outlook for the coming months remains rather negative, mainly because of geopolitical tensions. To see the index: https://aeur.eu/f/g61 (LM)