Brussels, 23/01/2003 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday the Commission today adopted a package of documents outlining EU policy towards small and medium-sized enterprises, highlighting recent progress in and points to possible further policy actions. A key finding is that EU Member States and candidate countries need to focus on SMEs more often in their rule and policy making. The Commission points out that consultation of small businesses remains low in both policy and law-making and should be changed. The documents also stress, however, the substantial progress made in key areas such as education for entrepreneurship and simplification of administrative procedures, both in candidate countries and Member States. The former are now having to face up the challenge of building an entrepreneurial culture and the Commission has recently taken several initiatives to support SMEs as a source of opportunities, rather than just risks. In this context, the recently nominated SME Envoy (of the Commission) has a crucial role in ensuring a more co-ordinated approach on SME issues.