EU Advocacy » ESBA's Key Results » Key Results 05/06
ESBA's Results 2005/2006
The retention of profits in small businesses
ESBA has been the leading organisation in Europe to promote the issue of “retention of profits” in SMEs as the best form of SME financing in the context of the Lisbon Strategy. Result: The European Commission's DG Enterprise agreed to launch a pan-European survey on this matter to be published in 2007. Certain Member States, such as Austria, took effective fiscal steps to promote retention of profits in SMEs. The retention of profits is also taken into consideration in the newly published Communication on financing growth (COM (2006) 349 final).
The Services Directive
ESBA joined the effort of SMEs organisations (as part of an ad hoc SME working group) in supporting the principle of “the country of origin” in the draft EU Directive widely debated in the European Institutions. Result: Whilst submitting a new draft Directive, the European Commission's DG Markt, maintained the high level of freedom to provide services across borders, limiting the possibility for Member States to lay down unjustifiable requirements on Service Providers.
The REACH Directive
ESBA lobbied MEPs on several aspects of the REACH Directive, in particular, to adapt the level of Chemical testing requirements according to the risk a substance may pose for human beings and the environment. Result: Certain amendments adopted by Parliament and the Council lessened registration requirements for small businesses in lower tonnage categories (1-10 tonnes). Ministers also agreed to the compulsory sharing of data under the One Substance One Registration proposal.
The Optical Radiation Directive (also called the Sunlight Directive)
ESBA lead several activities within the European Parliament and the EU media to warn against the damaging consequences of the draft Directive proposed by the European Commission on optical radiation. The draft Directive was creating unjustified burdens and legal threats to many small businesses with outdoor activities. Result: The European Parliament accepted that a regulation to protect workers from over-exposure to sunshine should be left to member states. The text on sun exposure was withdrawn.
The ESBA campaign against “Anti-SMEs Soft Rules”
In late 2005, ESBA started to profile within EU media and Institutions the fact that certain rules such as the ones imposed by auditing, certification and standardisation bodies fall disproportionately on small businesses. This topic is difficult to quantify, but ESBA started to collect evidence across the EU. Result: ESBA's campaign has successfully raised awareness of “Anti-SME Soft Rules” in the EU Institutions and ESBA hopes that DG Enterprise will tackle this issue in the near future and support the idea of a pan- European survey to further study the impact of such rules and assess their burdens on SMEs.
The European Social Dialogue
ESBA met with representatives of the European Commission in order to request changes in the manner the European Social Dialogue has been performed. The European Social Dialogue excludes a large number of SME organisations in Europe, in particular the ones representing very small businesses and self-employed. Recommendations or negotiations resulting from the European Social Dialogue therefore do not always take into account their particular circumstances of. The rights of employers in particular are not defined at EU level Result: The debate on the re-creation of an SME committee to discuss social dialogue preliminary planned in 1993 has been reopened. Further activities will be necessary to reach conclusive steps on this issue.
Page last updated: 02/02/2007 2:53:29 PM