Brussels, 07/11/2006 (Agence Europe) - EU officials will be leaving their desks in Brussels behind to spend a week gaining hands-on experience of life in a small or medium sized enterprise (SME) in various companies throughout Europe. 'Enterprise Experience', launched on 6 November, will give EU officials experience of the daily operations of European firms and so improve their understanding of the business environment in which these companies operate. The aim over a two year period, is to send trainees to countries across the EU, to ensure a balanced geographical coverage. The officials will work in SMEs in aerospace, pharmaceuticals, restaurants/hotels, information technologies, machinery, chemicals and textiles, shadowing key personnel and gaining experience in various departments of the company. EU Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen said: "I will myself take part in the exercise and I look forward to sharing the experience with my staff and to drawing conclusions from it together with them. A better understanding of the needs of SMEs and a better appreciation of business-specific problems is also part of the Better Regulation initiative and of our determination to improve the quality lawmaking." This first stage involves sending out 50 officials from its Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry up to Easter 2007. Half of the placements have already been arranged and the remaining ones will be finalised by the end of the year. The Commission is working in close cooperation with three business organisations - UNICE (Union of Industrial and Employers' Confederations of Europe), UEAPME (European Association of Craft, Small and Medium Seized Enterprises) and EUROCHAMBRES (Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry). From 2007 onwards, the visits will be organised in three main "waves” during the year to facilitate organisational arrangements. By 2009 all of the 350 or so administrators (AD staff) in DG Enterprise should have spent a week in an SME. (eh)