Activities of Anne SANDER related to 2020/2131(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on a new strategy for European SMEs
Amendments (19)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas micro, small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) are defined in the EU recommendation 2003/36;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas 99 % of European businesses are SMEs; whereas they represent 50 % of PIB and employ around 100 million people, corresponding to two- thirds of all jobs in the private sector, thus being the backbone of the European economy and key players to foster attractiveness of territories and for the development of identified strategic industrial ecosystems;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas European SMEs face a huge lack of investments reaching between 20 and 35 billion euros, despite the support of the EU and its Member States;
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas SMEs face tremendous challenges due to the COVID-19 crisis and many of them face the risk of bankruptcy;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas the Commission put forward commitments as regards its strategy for small and medium-sized enterprises published in March 2020;
Amendment 14 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Underlines the decisive contribution of SMEs to innovation, job creation, and building an inclusive labour marketand resilient labour market, boosting investments, competitiveness and sustainable growth; is extremely concerned about the rising unemployment rates in the EU and the risk of millions of people losing their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 crisis and the severe difficulties SMEs are going through due to this crisis; recognises that at present SMEs are faced with severe liquidity problems and, in this context, highlights the strong need for facilitating access to funding and for taking short and long term measures to support SMEs in the recovery; underlines that this should allow sustainable finance to bridge the current investment gap and to reinforce SMEs’ ability to innovate and move towards more sustainable, resource- efficient, circular and climate-neutral solutions, ensuring the successful implementation of the European Green Deal and the related just transition; stresses that the transition to sustainable and digitalised businesses for SMEs demands special policy attention and accompanying measures;
Amendment 34 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. CStresses that programmes crucial for SMEs’ competitiveness and development which are included in the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) should be guaranteed a necessary level of funding; considers that the EU recovery instruments and the relevant MFF programmes should complement national schemes, supporting SMEs, particularly in the sectors most affected by the pandemic, and striving to ensure the EU’s industrial independence;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Stresses that SME-related actions should be at the core of the EU’s industrial and green recovery plans and initiatives and should go hand in hand with measures to protect workers; considers the strengthening of EU rules on coordination of social security systems as essential for labour mobility and protecting workers, in particular those in precarious situations; recalls that the free movement of workers is a fundamental freedom central to the Single Market; recalls furthermore the importance of fostering labour mobility across Europe; stresses that, while important set of measures has been taken to support companies to react to the coronavirus outbreak, specific focus must now be put on mitigating the long-term effects of the crisis;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Is of the opinion that preventing companies from going bankrupt is key to preserve jobs and ensure a sustainable economic recovery; considers that the EU should therefore develop and reinforce early warning mechanisms to identify companies in distress and help them avoid insolvency; considers that European funding and programmes should be redirected in that sense;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for the systematic application of health and safety measures in the workplace, and welcomes the guidelines of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) on adapting workplaces and protecting workers in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic; considers that such guidelines should be further developed in order to provide a coordinated and efficient response in case of future cross-border threats to public health; underlines the importance of taking adequate measures to assist SMEs in drawing up work plans that respect the rules on safety and security;
Amendment 76 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the reduction of the regulatory burden and the simplification of rules on access to finance for SMEs and self-employed persons should constitute a cornerstone of the future strategy for European SMEs, and would make a crucial contribution to a speedy economic recovery; therefore calls for the swift implementation of the European patent to promote SMEs’ innovation potential;
Amendment 82 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Calls for abolishment of rules and for giving priority to an effective resumption of economic activities, and insists that it is essential to place the SMEs at the core of the ‘after crisis’ single market; proposes that a single market consistency plan be put forward with a strong focus on making market access and access to finance for SMEs easier;
Amendment 103 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the EU to support the digital and green transitions by investing in artificial intelligence and in reskilling and upskilling initiatives to foster digital literacy, the uptake of advanced digital skills and the new skills for new occupations and sectors that will emerge from the transition to a sustainable, carbon- neutral economy; highlights the need to adopt a forward-looking approach to vocational education and training and skills, in particular digital skills; stresses, as a matter of priority, the need to address the mismatch between skills/qualifications and the needs of the labour market. ; underlines the importance of accompanying the digital transition of SMEs in particular for immaterial investments and the reinforcement of cybersecurity;
Amendment 112 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Considers that support for companies will be essential to cope with the needs in all sectors of activity and that traditional SMEs will need to be supported more than ever, alongside with the more innovative ones; underlines the need for fair competition for SMEs in the European online environment in particular via the future Digital Services Act;
Amendment 116 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Underlines the importance of boosting entrepreneurship, including among women and young people.
Amendment 120 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Stresses the importance of fostering further synergies between SMEs, research institutes, universities and the education sector to make sure the skills match with the labour market needs;
Amendment 126 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Calls on the SME strategy to provide an easy access to finance and to open up suitable tools to support very small projects (common rules on European crowdfunding, common competition rules on venture capital, social economy, commerce, services etc.);
Amendment 128 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Underlines that EU legislation must be SME-friendly ; highlights that the scrutiny of the SME dimension in all impact assessments needs to be strengthened and is to be considered a binding SME test within the impact assessment phase, fully committed to the “Think Small First” principle and assessing the economic impact including the compliance costs of legislative proposals on SMEs;
Amendment 130 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Paragraph 6 f (new)
6f. Underlines that SMEs need to have access to public procurement tenders as public procurement will provide a lever to boost recovery ; stresses at this effect, unfair selection criteria should be tackled;