Activities of Paloma LÓPEZ BERMEJO related to 2018/2545(RSP)
Plenary speeches (1)
The definition of SMEs (debate) ES
Amendments (20)
Amendment 2 #
Recital A
A. whereas the 23 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU, which make up around 99 % of all businesses and provide more than 90 million jobs while generating some EUR 3.9 trillion in added value, make a vital contribution to economic growth, social cohesion and job creation and are a major source of innovation in the EU, and depend highly on domestic demand and consumption;
Amendment 9 #
Recital B
B. whereas SMEs are disproportionately affected by administrative burdens andaffected by financial obstacles byin comparison withto larger firms, but also benefit from specific support, including financing opportunities, and simplified procedures; whereas at EU and Member State level further efforts could be made to create an SME-friendly environment which go beyond the political pledges already given;
Amendment 11 #
Recital C
C. whereas the SME definition is referred to in approximately 100 EU legal acts, primarily in the areas of competition policy and structural, research and innovation funds, but also labour, environmental, energy, consumer protection and social security legislation, for example in the REACH secondary legislation and the Energy Efficiency Directive;
Amendment 14 #
Recital D
D. whereas a coherent legal environment is favourable to all businesses and whereas thea stringent SME definition is a tool to overcommitigate market failures and problems stemming frominherent to competition between enterprises different in size, volume of assets and business models;
Amendment 18 #
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas an SME definition has to contribute to facilitating quality job creation, improving working conditions and security, limiting to the absolute minimum any abuses.
Amendment 22 #
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s initial impact assessment, and approves the focus on enterprises that are need in of support and simple rules and the objective to increase planning and legal certainty for businesses and create a level playing field;
Amendment 25 #
Paragraph 2
2. Takes the view that given the nature of this strategic instrument and the many differences between SMEs and Member States, the flexibility offered by the 2003 recommendation should be maintained; is convinced that strictly applying the SME definition runs counter to the intentions of the recommendation and ultimately hinders the growth of SMEremoved; a wider and more flexible definition would affect legal and administrative certainty, leading to bigger companies to take undue advantage of SME support measures;
Amendment 29 #
Paragraph 3
3. Calls on the Commission and Member States to prevent larger players from attempting to create specific corporate structures to take advantage of the SME definition, which would lead to a system in which the available support is wrongly distributed more widely and hence not available to SMEs in need, specially micro and small enterprises; emphasises that an adjustment of the SME definition should not work to the detriment of SMEs, denying them access to public support;
Amendment 39 #
Paragraph 4
4. Urges the Commission to at least update the SME definition minimally to take account of the rise in inflation and labour productivity since 2003; strongly supports an adjustment beyond the index-linking of inflation and labour productivity, in order to take account of future inflation, provide certainty and obviate the need for a rapid further adjustment in the next few years;
Amendment 53 #
Paragraph 5
5. Points out that the employee numbers is not a criterion which can be used to draw up for accurate EU-wide comparisons, as labour productivity varies from one Member State to another; welcomes, therefore, a shift towards the criteria of turnover and balance sheet totals;
Amendment 66 #
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that there is a need to clarify not only the terms ‘linked enterprise’ and ‘partner enterprise’ but also SMEs’ status in mergers and consortiums, and regards the simplification of procedures and the cutting of red tape as imperativein order to avoid the creation of specific corporate structures to take advantage of the SME definition; calls on the Commission in that connection to further simplify the applicable rules;
Amendment 71 #
Paragraph 7
7. Welcomes the Commission’s start- up and scale-up initiative; views the promotion of entrepreneurship as important for economic growth in the EU; calls on the Commission to introduce a two-year transitional period during which enterprises which no longer qualify for SME status would retain that status;
Amendment 82 #
Paragraph 8
8. Takes the view that economic diplomacy instruments employed at EU level, such as the Mission for Growth, could be used to address economic challenges and exploit economic opportunities at global level more effectively; calls on the Commission to step up its efforts in that area, without creating duplicate structures; calls, in that connection, for an ‘Export growth in relation to enterprise size’ indicator to be developed and forCalls on the Commission to step up its efforts to help SMEs to take the utmost advantage from economic opportunities; calls, in that connection, not to focus merely on additional support to be offered to small enterprises with high export volumes but on developing domestic demand;
Amendment 92 #
Paragraph 9
Amendment 114 #
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission, in addition to the priority EU measures for SMEs, to launch a MidCaps-oriented initiative for micro-enterprises using new funding, which would cover collaborative research access, digitalisation strategies, export market development and an easing of the Basel specifications and data protection rules;
Amendment 129 #
Paragraph 11
11. Takes the view that SME categorisation should not be exclusively based on the criteria of employee headcount, annual turnover and balance sheet totals; calls, therefore, for the criteria of ‘export-intensive’ (high level of exports in relation to number of employees), ‘largely independently-run’ and ‘high equity ratio’ - to be defined in due course - to be taken into account when categorising companies and for enterprises with these characteristics to at least be exempted from the relevant specific reporting obligations and/or for it to be made easier for them to access financial support;
Amendment 135 #
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to conduct a study into the impact of the SME definition on business development and on lock-in-effects, i.e. when enterprises deliberately opt not to expand in order to avoid bureaucratic burdens and other obligations that arise from the loss of their SME status, business models and employment;
Amendment 151 #
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to conduct a feasibility study of sector- specific SME definitions in order to scrutinise the impact of such an approach on these sectors of the economy and the added value generated when set against the additional costs incurred, and to adapt the SME definition accordingly, should the study prove its feasibility;
Amendment 156 #
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for an SME categoryimpact test to be made mandatory for all EU legislative proposals, beyond the Commission’s own undertakings; stresses that the result should be clearly indicated in the impact assessment; calls on the Commission to give such an undertaking in the next Interinstitutional Agreement on better law- making;
Amendment 158 #
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Member States and the Commission to provide guidance to enterprises on the procedures used to determine SME status in an unbureaucratic and pragmaticoptimal manner;