7 Amendments of Malcolm HARBOUR related to 2008/2237(INI)
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Recognises that pre-commercial procurement offers substantial rewards for SMEs both in facilitating SME participation in procurement practises and in helping to encourage SME involvement in research and development;
Amendment 9 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Notes that SMEs can benefit from pre- commercial procurement through risk sharing (given their more limited investment capabilities), through progressive growth (in size and experience) at each stage of the research and development process and through the bidding process, which is streamlined compared to traditional procurement;
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Underlines the importance of the Single Market for SMEs and notes that promoting SME access to the Single Market should be a priority;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Recognises that there are still certain restrictions on the ability of SMEs to fully exploit advantages offered by the internal market; therefore notes that both the legal and political framework of the internal market should be improved to facilitate cross-border operation by SMEs; also notes that a clear regulatory environment would offer SMEs increased incentives to trade in the internal market; considers that Member States should set up Single Points of Contact and web portals;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Recognises that SME involvement in research and development is important both to increase SME competitiveness in the internal market and to increase the attractiveness of SMEs; is of the opinion that participation conditions in EU research Framework Programmes remain too bureaucratic and are a disincentive for SMEs;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Underlines the importance of stakeholder input through public consultation by the Commission, but notes that the eight-week period for consultation represents a significant barrier to the interests of SMEs being taken into account; would therefore encourage the Commission to reconsider a longer consultation period to help meet policy objectives as well as to encourage SME involvement and representation;
Amendment 30 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Considers that the Commission and the Member States should together ensure that the business environment does not present disincentives, whether through burdensome procedures, tax disincentives or other regulatory complexity, to people with specialist skills who wish to offer them on a self-employed basis.