Brussels, 02/06/2008 (Agence Europe) - In an interview to EUROPE, Christoph Leitl, the president of the “SME Union” network affiliated to the EPP-ED at the European Parliament, explained how the Small Business Act (SBA) could help change the mind-set and behaviour of policy on Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. He also expressed some of the grievances the SME-Union has about this initiative, which is supposed to stimulate growth of European SMEs. The European Commission is expected to present the initiative on 2 July (EUROPE 9668)
Agence Europe: What is the main message of your organisation regarding the SBA?
C.L.: The “Small Business Act” is about changing minds and changing behaviour. Changing minds means not only speaking about SMEs. All politicians do that. They give speeches but they are doing too little. (…) I want to tell you frankly that in the beginning I was not a friend of Günter Verheugen (GV). I was very critical. I have completely changed my mind. None of the commissioners before GV were as dedicated to the goals and the needs of SMEs. It has now been announced that GV will not stay for another mandate and we regret this. We therefore have to focus on two points: 1) Who will come afterwards? It's a decisive position for the development of Europe; 2) We have 15 months left to change a lot. The SBA could be a pearl in the crown of GV's activities.
A.E.: Do you have any idea of who could be the next commissioner?
C.L.: No, it's a question for the next president of the EC and members to deal with. Our only demand is that we want an extremely professional commissioner for SMEs, like GV.
A.E.: Why have we had to wait so long, until the end of the Commission's mandate, for such an initiative to be launched? Problems experienced by SMEs were known about well before now
C.L.: Successful politics is always about creating awareness of a priority in solving a problem. In political activities the importance is to pick one point and try to do something - whether one is successful or not doesn't matter. Therefore it was our demand to bring (all SME issues) into a general system.
A.E.: How do you feel about the Commission's ongoing work on the SBA?
C.L.: Even the name of the SBA creates a little bit of misunderstanding because 'act' means 'law'. You can't bring it into a law but you can say 'this is what we need and what we will put into practice'. E.g.: taxation - how should it work? Is there a difference between big and small companies? Should we have a common basis for the taxation system? Should we have an upper threshold for VAT? What about the financial system and the reality of SMEs?
A.E.: Is the elaboration of a European Company Statute a good idea?
Christoph Leitl - We support it. In Austria today, the minimum private equity level (to create a company) is €35 000. We want to reduce it to €10 000 because there are a lot of firms founded with one computer, perhaps a room. We don't like the UK solution either - you can found a company with £1, I don't think it's serious. But we should also have one EU law for private companies.
A.E.: What can be done to improve SME access to public procurement?
Christoph Leitl - First, split the contracts into lots so that small companies can be competitive. I am in favour of quotas when it comes to access to subsidies (FP6 reserved 15% for SMEs) but not in the field of public procurement because it will change the fairness of the competition. We don't want advantages for small companies, we want equal opportunities.
A.E.: How can SME access to national and European level finance be improved?
Christoph Leitl - By creating a guarantee for small and micro-credit. If funds could be financed at national level but guaranteed at European level, then you need no money but you get the guarantee. That means a double effect: 1) It's equity for the small entrepreneurs; 2) The interest rates are lower because there is a guarantee. It's an idea, we'll work on it.
A.E.: Do you think the EU criteria defining a SME should be changed?
Christoph Leitl - No. You do not widen the possibilities of subsidies if you widen the criteria. Big companies get more money and small ones less. It's very simple. I understand BusinessEurope would like it because they are the representative of big companies.
A.E.: Better regulation - what's wrong with having a high level group if a low level group has been created - what will the main proposals you present be?
C.L.: We will send our proposals to GV and Stoiber (President of High level group). People expect concrete suggestions and not general philosophies, and they expect results in a short term perspective. That's what we want to deliver on 5 June. It will not be perfect, just a concrete first step on a long road. What will happen to the high level group after the mandate of EP and the EC has finished?
A.E.: How will you make sure your proposals are taken into account?
Christoph Leitl - I am relying on the EC (namely GV) and the EP and many MEPs who are in close contact with our SME sister organisations.
A.E.: How can entrepreneurship be stimulated in Europe?
Christoph Leitl - Education is more of a national competence, but creating awareness of the need for entrepreneurship is a major point. For example, in Austria we have created something similar to a company driving licence. We have very good experience - people in school can decide what to learn and finally do a test. I think it's one of the best practices we need in Europe.
It is related to my call for an IQ strategy - I innovation, Q qualification. In Europe we have high salaries, environmental standards, social standards and high standards of living and social security. OK. That means we have to earn much more money to keep these standards, that we need innovation, competition of talents. That is related to our education system that should foster individual talents better for creating new goods and services. That's how we can survive. If you only produce commodities you will have no chance. Europe is damned to innovation.
A.E.: Are there any other points you would like to raise?
C.L: Late payments, especially from the public authorities, which is a great problem for SMEs. If a municipality is not paying you, what can you do? You can say I am blaming you or whatever. Payment ethics should be better. We could have a more unified system at EU level.