20 Amendments of Patrizia TOIA related to 2018/2545(RSP)
Amendment 5 #
Recital A
A. whereas the 23 million 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 jobthe creation of sustainable and high-quality jobs, and are a major source of innovation in the EU;
Amendment 6 #
Recital A a (new)
Aa. whereas 90% of European SMEs and 93% of all EU companies in the non- financial business sector are micro firms, which contribute the largest share of value added and employment among SMEs as they employ approximately 30% of the European workforce and which thus need special attention;
Amendment 8 #
Recital B
B. whereas SMEs are disproportionately affected by administrative burdens and financial obstacles by comparison with larger firms and regardless of their organizational structure; whereas at EU and, Member State, regional and local level further efforts could be made to create an SME-friendly environment which go beyond the political pledges already given;
Amendment 17 #
Recital D a (new)
Da. whereas the cross-sectoral value chain for SMEs makes it possible to reduce institutional, technical and bureaucratic obstacles and whereas effective support policies are needed for the creation of networks between businesses;
Amendment 34 #
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Calls on the Commission to terminate the general exclusion of SMEs with public participation because of their ownership structure, as they face the same regulatory and financial challenges as other businesses of the same size, are deeply rooted in their local business environment and, inter alia, create the right preconditions for the growth of all other SMEs; emphasises that, as regards partners and related undertakings, the Commission communication on the definition of SMEs is appropriate and sufficient to prevent harmful corporate structures and that, in accordance with the principles of EU competition law, the criteria for SMEs should only be of a quantitative nature.
Amendment 41 #
Paragraph 4
4. UrgesCalls on the Commission to at least updateconsider updating the financial thresholds for the SME definition 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 yearwhile also, possibly, taking account of the Commission’s economic forecasts;
Amendment 52 #
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; Stresses that number of employees should remain the main criterion for defining SMEs and that, as labour productivity varies from one Member State to another, it is not a useful indicator for the purpose of adjusting financial thresholds for the definition of SMEs; considers furthermore that, in relation to number of employees, the definition of ‘micro enterprise’ should be properly recognised and take the acronym MSME;
Amendment 63 #
Paragraph 6
6. Stresses that there is a need to clarify not onlsimplify the terms ‘linked enterprise’ and ‘partner enterprise’ butand also SMEs’ status in mergers, and consortiums and regards the simplification of procedures and the cutting of red tape as imperative; calls on the Commission in that connection to further simplify the applicable rules;
Amendment 67 #
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Calls on the Commission to support the aggregation of undertakings, particularly clusters and business networks, with the aim of promoting the rationalisation of costs and improvements to the exchange of knowledge and expertise, with particular reference to innovation relating to both products/services and processes.
Amendment 73 #
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 79 #
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Calls on the Commission to support SMEs operating specifically in the area of the social economy through its policies whose main driver is not economic viability but social benefit;
Amendment 88 #
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 for additional support to be offered to small enterprises with high export volumein order to improve information about the international competitiveness of SMEs;
Amendment 89 #
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 growthpotential in relation to enterprise size’ indicator to be developed and for additional support to be offered to small enterpriseSMEs with high export volumespotential;
Amendment 95 #
Paragraph 9
9. Is concerned that, despite the considerable contribution they make to employment and growth by virtue of their productivity, MidCaps (enterprises that have outgrown the SME definition but still have typically medium-sized structures) are being neglected by policy- makers; calls, therefore, for a definition to be established forConsiders it necessary that European, national, regional and local institutions should devote more attention to businesses with structures typical of micro enterprises and MidCaps on account of these companies based on the criteria that they are family- run, have high equity ratio and employ up to 3000 peoplensiderable contribution they make to employment and growth by virtue of their productivity;
Amendment 112 #
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission, in addition toto proceed further with its analysis of MidCaps, including the effectiveness of the priority EU measures for SMEs, to launch a MidCaps-oriented initiative using new funding, which would cover collaborativeof the EU and Member States, with particular reference to cohesion policy, research access, digitalisation strategies, export market development and an easing of the Basel specifications and data protection rules;
Amendment 120 #
Paragraph 11
Amendment 139 #
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on the Commission to conduct a study into the possible 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;
Amendment 141 #
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Underlines that small local public service enterprises that meet the SME criteria fulfil important tasks for local communities; notes that having public ownership does not necessarily imply financial or regulatory support by the public entity due to national legislation, state aid laws and financially weak public entities; stresses that they thus face the same challenges as SMESs, which may lead to unfair competitive disadvantages for these enterprises when they are financially independent, organized under private law or are operating under competitive conditions with private companies; therefore, urges the Commission to re-examine and consider a deletion of the exclusion of enterprises with a public ownership of more than 25% from the SME definition;
Amendment 150 #
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 avalue generated when set against the additional costs incurred, and to adapt the SME definition accordingly, should the study prove its feasibility;
Amendment 154 #
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for an SME category 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 and Member States to give such an undertaking in the next Interinstitutional Agreement on better law- making, and calls for the Small Business Act for Europe to be updated in the light of the altered state of many European SMEs;