The European Charter for Small Enterprises

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Enterprise and Industry Directorate General
The European Charter for Small Enterprises
Edward TERSMETTE
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The European Charter for Small Enterprises

• Created at the request of the Lisbon European
  Council in 2000 as a first concrete step on the
  Lisbon agenda
• Self-commitment of Heads of State of the Member
  States to improve the administrative and
  regulatory framework for SMEs
• A tool to structure and systematically improve
  SME-policy in 10 Charter action lines

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Charter signatories

• 2000 Original signatories andNorway
• 2002 Candidate countries
• 2003 Western Balkans (sorry, old Map..)
• 2004 Moldovaand the Euro-Med Charter

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The Charter action lines

• Education and training for entrepreneurship
• Cheaper and faster start-up
• Better legislation and regulation
• Availability of skills
• Improving online access

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The Charter action lines

1. Getting more out of the single market
2. Taxation and financial matters
3. Strengthening the technological capacity of SEs
4. Making use of successful e-business models and
   developing top-class business support
5. Developing stronger, more effective
   representation of small enterprises interests at
   Union and national level

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The Charter good practice exercise

• MS submit their good practices in SME- policies
  yearly to the Commission
• the most relevant ones are published and
  translated to foster exchange and learning from
  each other
• a selection of them is presented at the annual
  Charter conference
• Good practices are made accessible via
  online-catalogue at http//ec.europa.eu/enterpris
  e/enterprise_policy/charter/gp

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The 2007/2008 good practice exercise

• Participation by all Member States Norway
• Charter focus areas 2007
• (1) Education and training for entrepreneurship
• (2) Better legislation and regulation, especially
  how to think small first
• (3) Top class small business support, especially
  support to internationalise

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The Charter conference 2008

• 3-4 June 2008 in Bled/Brdo, Slovenia
• Target group policy makers, business
  organisations, business support organisations,
  entrepreneurs
• 300 participants expected from the Member States,
  Candidate countries, countries from the
  Mediterranean and Western Balkan and from
  European regions
• co-organised together with the Slovenian
  presidency

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Western Balkans

• Developed a series of 50-60 indicators to measure
  performance
• National reports and a national  consultation 
  meeting
• G4 group EC, OECD, ETF (education, training and
  HRD issues), EBRD (access to finance issues)
• Plus an independent evaluation

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Montenegro

• 2007 report ranked in second place with Serbia
  and FYRo Macedonia. First place Croatia. Third
  group Albania, BiH, Kosovo/UNSCR 1244
• April 2009 new  G4  report to be issued, will
  track progress and report more specifically on
  innovation and competitiveness. Bilateral meeting
  in Montenegro in September 2008.
• Bilateral meeting Montenegro would benefit from a
  wider participation

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The Charter conference 2008

• The conference Workshops
• (1) Education and training for
  entrepreneurship
• (2) Better legislation and regulation,
  especially how to think small first
• (6) Top class small business support,
  especially support to internationalise
• (4) Best of other Charter areas
• (5) Successful promotion of entrepreneurship
• (3) Fostering high growth innovative SMEs

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The Charter conference 2008

• Where to register?
• Website and Online registration at
• http//ec.europa.eu/enterprise/enterprise_policy/
  charter/conf2008