Brussels, 08/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The report by British Conservative Philip Rodway Bushill-Matthews on the Commission's report on the initiative for growth and employment - Financial Assistance Measures for Innovative and Job-creating SMEs" (31 December 1999) will be debated in Strasbourg on 17 January. The rapporteur crisiticses the weakness of the Commission's document and its tardy transmission to the Parliamentary Committee. "We had to wait for the first five months of the year 2000", Bushmill-Matthews comments, calling for, henceforth, annual reports being handed to Parliament well before May, preferably end-March at the latest, so that "Parliament may play a significant and timely role in designing the programme of the following year". Considering that, today, the EIB has control of the European Investment Funds, whereas it is not directly responsible to EU institutions, the rapporteur calls in particular for the Bank to confirm the available funds that will be exclusively earmarked for SMEs in the high-tech sector and knowledge-based industries, and for companies involved in the crafts, retailing, tourism and other services also to be able to benefit from these funds. Mr. Bushill-Matthews, moreover, calls on Member States to review their bilateral agreements so as to eliminate double-taxation, which is an obstacle to a successful granting of funds from the JEV Programme (Joint European Venture) and urges the Commission and the EIB to make it clearer to the financial intermediaries and providers of assistance to companies that the increase in the level of participation of women is also an important element of the European employment strategy regarding support for start-ups and SMEs.