Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2013-02-04-Speech-1-116-000"
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"en.20130204.18.1-116-000"2
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"Mr President, I was very pleased that the Employment Committee decided to write an opinion on this very important topic. After all, helping small and micro-businesses to grow will lead to new jobs, and that has to be the right focus for the work of the Employment Committee. As a draftsman of our opinion I really would like to congratulate the rapporteur on his constructive report, and I am glad to see that it includes a number of our recommendations.
The financial crisis has hit small businesses very hard, and the unwillingness of financial institutions to lend has dampened growth and job opportunities. We need improved access to loans and credit at affordable rates. In the UK – and I am sorry to be a bit parochial – we need to bring back the old-fashioned bank manager with discretion to lend. They knew the area, they knew the business climate and they knew the individual borrowers.
Anyway, it is important that we discuss other options available to SMEs and raise awareness of non-bank routes too, such as peer-to-peer lending and micro-financed schemes. While there are initiatives at EU level, including COSME and Horizon 2020, my opinion discussed the possibilities of using these initiatives to equip potential and existing entrepreneurs with the appropriate skills, tools and knowledge required for successful financial management.
I fully agree with the rapporteur on the importance of reducing the administrative burden on SMEs and accelerating the implementation of the Late Payment Directive. The EU should do everything possible to ensure that new regulations do not place disproportionate burdens on SMEs and micro-enterprises. Properly assisted, and not tied up in knots with red tape, SMEs will help to maximise Europe’s potential as part of the dynamic, innovating and growing economy that we can become."@en1
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