Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-07-09-Speech-3-457"
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"Mrs Panayotopoulos-Cassiotou, this is a very topical question and only a few days ago the Commission put forward a very broadly based initiative in this sector.
Let me start by saying that I am very pleased that the enormous importance of small and medium enterprises to our economy and to job creation has been widely recognised throughout the European Union in recent years. I was particularly concerned to ensure that all the European institutions and the Member States pay due attention to the role of small and medium enterprises. If we do not make full use of the SMEs’ growth potential, if we do not make full use of their workforce potential, we will not be able to master the consequences of globalisation in Europe. Let me make this point quite clear: we will successfully master the consequences of globalisation if we manage to strengthen the SME sector in Europe. To that end, the SMEs must be able to make even better use of the opportunities offered by the internal market and global competition.
A vital factor here – and I now come to your question – is access to knowledge, research and innovation. It is not just large European enterprises but also small and medium ones, if they are at all active on the international markets, that must make the transition to the knowledge-based economy. That is their only chance now. They cannot compete in terms of price; they can only compete by offering a better quality of product or service and that better quality comes from better technology and from innovation.
One of the main instruments available to them at Community level is, of course, the Seventh Framework Research Programme, which will provide funding of at least 15% for small and medium enterprises, and it appears from the early results that we will certainly achieve that target.
The Small Business Act to which I referred earlier brings with it a whole range of other proposals designed to give small and medium enterprises easier access to innovation, knowledge, research and technology. Let me give a few examples. Firstly, there is the proposal to simplify the rules on state aid to promote research, development and innovation, in particular through the block exemption regulation. The Commission decided that last week and it will free up great potential. The second is incentives for establishing enterprises with a high growth potential by promoting research and innovation capacity, in particular by the closer coordination of national programmes and initiatives. Then there are measures to promote greater participation by small and medium enterprises in the transfer of knowledge. Here we will be setting up a new pilot project aimed to help finance the industrial use of intellectual property. I could also mention that we are encouraging SMEs to play an active part in the activities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, to ensure that they can also benefit from the transfer of knowledge that Institute will promote.
As you can see, a lot is happening here. Let me make it quite clear, though, that in the end it is of course up to the entrepreneurs and enterprises themselves whether they make use of the opportunities they are offered. It is, therefore, very important to make market participants far more aware of the opportunities that already exist today. That is a question of information and communication, both of which need to be greatly improved. And that is why the Commission created the European e-Business Support Network early this year. It is the largest network of its kind in the world and its aim is to put every European enterprise within reach of a contact point that can answer all the questions about innovation, access to EU programmes and access to research resources."@en1
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