Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2011-02-16-Speech-3-598-000"
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"en.20110216.20.3-598-000"2
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"First let me answer Mr Higgins’ question concerning the regulatory environment. This is really very important for the existence and working conditions of SMEs.
I agree with you that sometimes money does not get to the intended recipients, and there should be better organisation. My view on that is that we really have to pay attention to the counterparts of the EIB in the Member States, because in most cases they are the partners. We should not always blame the EIB for the implementation, which is not directly done by the EIB.
So I agree, on the second question, that it is extremely important that Community money and EIB loans get to the intended recipients, that is, the small and medium-sized enterprises.
I believe the Council cannot give opinions on written declarations, so if you do not mind, Mr President, I will not comment.
Applying the ‘Think Small First’ principle when preparing laws and policies is a cornerstone of the new framework we are trying to establish. This is important at all levels, not only at EU level, but
and I think you share my view
also at national, regional and municipality level.
The Commission has revised its state aid rules to encourage Member States to direct more support for SMEs to key areas such as training, R&D and environmental protection and to overcome the current focus on large businesses.
The agreement by Member States to allow for the application of reduced VAT rates for locally supplied services, including labour-intensive services such as hairdressing, catering and repair services, will further stimulate economic activity and create jobs, and the Commission warmly welcomes this decision.
In the area of better regulation, the Commission has tabled important legislative initiatives already. It has adopted a proposal for revisiting the VAT directive to remove barriers to electronic invoicing, with cost-saving potential amounting to billions of euros in the medium term.
The Commission also came forward in February with a proposal to allow Member States to adopt less burdensome accounting requirements for micro-businesses, thus fulfilling its commitment in the action plan for small businesses. It has the capacity to reduce the burden by up to EUR 6 billion. The Commission encourages Member States to reach an agreement as soon as possible to allow Member States who wish to take advantage of this opportunity to do so, so we in the Council definitely have to move along those lines.
The Commission will also carefully assess the likely burden of any new legislative proposals, not only for SMEs. We have quite a number of good proposals on the table, and in the Competitiveness Council we are following this item and trying to address as many of these issues as quickly as possible.
Turning to the second question, on improving access to finance, even in my introductory remark I tried to make a reference to that. To loosen the supply of much-needed credit, the EIB lent EUR 1 billion to SMEs in 2008, an increase of 60% compared to 2007.
The aim is to lend more money on these issues later on. I remember very well that, when I was still an MEP, I was responsible for an opinion on the EIB. In my opinion for the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, I made an evaluation. I have to tell you that the EIB reacted very quickly to the changed circumstances and reorganised its priorities. So we welcomed those moves by the EIB."@en1
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