Brussels, 02/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday, presenting the action plan to boost entrepreneurship in the EU, adopted by the European Commission on 11 February, to the press (see EUROPE of 14 February, p.15), Erkki Liikanen stressed the handicap the Union suffers from compared to the US in the fields of business creation and productivity. "Europe needs more entrepreneurs to catch up in terms of competition performances", said the Commissioner in charge of enterprise policy, adding: "to boost innovation, competitiveness and growth, we needs more Europeans to start up or take over a business, and once it is in place, this must be able to operate in an environment conducive to its development". It is worth noting that the action plan provides for key actions in five fields, and stresses the following priorities: promoting entrepreneurship among young people, to remove the stigma from failure, proposing support for women and ethnic minorities, reducing the complexities of taxation legislation, and facilitating business transfers. Mr Liikanen feels that this plan should "help to boost entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity". However, he believes that "the EU cannot do this alone". For this reason, he feels the action plan can only work with "the active participation of Member States' governments, regional and local authorities and professional organisations".