A declaration was adopted by representatives of crafts and small businesses, on 17 April, setting out actions they want to see from policymakers to help improve their competitiveness.
One of the main themes addressed in the declaration is education and skills training. The representatives call for entrepreneurship to be included in general and technical education criteria, as well as for improvements in the mutual recognition of vocational qualifications.
The conference also emphasised the need for measures to improve the business environment, including making effective use of the future EU Business Support Network to provide SMEs with easy access to useful information. They also need to be provided with the means to take advantage of business opportunities. Participants called for the promotion of guarantee schemes and micro-credits, and mezzanine finance' techniques combining features of both equity and loan finance. The European Commission has already indicated that it intends to use the declaration in the development of future policy initiatives.
The event brought together a total of around 1,000 delegates, and was used as a forum for dialogue between business organisations, entrepreneurs and decision-makers at European, national and regional level. It was the fourth such conference organised by the Commission, with the previous one held in Milan in 1997. The EU executive also used it as an opportunity to launch its new SME internet portal, which it claims will make it easier for businesses to find appropriate support services. The site is to be available in 17 languages, and is accessible at ec.europa.eu/enterprise/smes/indix_en.htm
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