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ESBA BULLETIN of 18 August 2008 – Volume 10 – Number 6

Headlines

EU/Enterprise: Commission presents Action Plan for sustainable
consumption and production

In Brief

EU/ EIT: Commission appoints EIT Governing Board

EU/ Enterprise: New industrial property rights strategy to protect
innovative SMEs

Publications

  • Eurostat: European Union Labor Force Survey-Annual results 2007
  • SCALES-Initiative: Overcoming Resource-Constraints through
    Internationalization? An empirical Analysis of European SMEs

Consultations

NEW:

  • Online Consultation on post-2012 climate change agreement

ONGOING:

  • Online Consultation on Combating Late Payments in Commercial
    Transactions
  • Online consultation on Administrative Burdens Reduction

COMING UP

Headlines:

EU/ Enterprise: New Action Plan for sustainable consumption and
production in Europe

On 16 July, the European Commission published the “Sustainable
Consumption and Production Action Plan”, a series of measures to improve
the environmental performance of products, in particular their energy
efficiency, and to increase the consumers’ awareness of and demand for
more sustainable goods and production technologies.

The Commission’s plan sets out a list of voluntary and obligatory actions with
the aim to provide a new framework for environmental product policy, to
promote eco-friendly and leaner production, to contribute to sustainable
consumption and production internationally and to show examples of gains in
efficiency and cost reduction. The package of actions comprises a revision of
the Ecodesign Directive, extending compulsory minimum Ecodesign
requirements for ‘energy-using’ products to all ‘energy-related’ products such
as water-using devices or windows, and setting minimum marketability standards.
Besides, the measures foresee an extension of mandatory
labelling of products as well as plans for the promotion of green public
procurement.

ESBA OPINION

ESBA generally supports to the Commission’s plans to reduce negative
environmental impacts caused by current consumption and production
patterns in the EU. Measures directed at the improvement of
environmental performance of products have to be designed in such a
way as not to put small businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
Plans for a revision of the Ecodesign Directive as well as the
introduction of compulsory minimum marketability standards could
pose a potential threat to micro and small businesses and place them
out of the market. ESBA urges the Commission to ‘Think small first’
when legislating. Rigorous application of this principle – in Brussels
and at national level – will help entrepreneurs to feel the tangible
benefits of the EU’s SME policy and the policy makers to reach more of
their ambitious objectives.

To read more about the Action Plan for sustainable consumption, production
and industry, please go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/environment/sip_new_pages/sip_a1_en.htm

EU/ EIT: Commission appoints EIT Governing Board

On 30 July, the European Commission officially appointed the Governing
Board of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).
The board will hold its first meeting on 15 September in Budapest, chosen
recently to be the EIT headquarter. The 18 members of the Board are
professionals from academia and industry. The Board is given the task of
establishing 'Knowledge and Innovation Communities' (KICs), which will be
the operational centres of the EIT. KICs will be based on an integrated
public-private network and the newly appointed Board will decide on their
location. KICs main mission will be to generate and disseminate new
knowledge products and best practices in the innovation sector. The official
launch of 2-3 KICs is foreseen for the end of 2009.

ESBA OPINION

ESBA welcomes the progress in the process of the creation of the EIT.
Close cooperation between the SME community and the EIT will be key
to bridge the innovation gap between the EU and its major competitors
and would contribute to the Lisbon Goals of increasing growth and
jobs by linking research, education and innovation.

To read more about the EIT and to learn about the composition of the Board,
please go to: http://www.eit.europa.eu

EU/ New industrial property rights strategy to protect innovative SMEs

On 16 July, the European Commission adopted a Communication on a new
industrial property rights strategy for Europe. Besides outlining the creation of
a Community patent and an integrated patent jurisdiction, the Commission
Communication sets out a list of measures to improve the quality of the
industrial property rights system in Europe. In particular, the Communication
aims to provide access to high-quality industrial property rights for all
innovators, especially SMEs. In order to protect the industrial property rights
and to fight against counterfeiting and piracy, the Commission aims to
improve coordination between key enforcement actors at national level as
well as to develop effective cooperation between Member States in the field
of information exchange on counterfeited goods.

To read more about the Commission strategy on industrial property rights,
please go to: http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/indprop/index_en.htm

Publications:

Ø Eurostat: European Union Labor Force Survey-Annual results 2007

The Eurostat publication presents annual averages of the main results of
the EU Labour Force Survey for the EU-27 and for all Member States.
Indicators presented in this publication are: employment rates, part-time
employment as share of total employment, number of employed people
broken down by economic activity and by occupation of the main job,
average of hours usually worked by week, percentage of employees with
limited duration contract, percentage of unemployed for 1 year and more,
and youth unemployment ratio.

To download this publication, please go to:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-QA-08-027/EN/KS-QA-08-027-EN.PDF

Ø SCALES-Initiative: Overcoming Resource-Constraints through
Internationalization? An empirical Analysis of European SMEs

Based on resource dependency theory and the model for entrepreneurial
internationalization this paper investigates whether resource scarcities in
terms of labor, finance and technology increase the likelihood for SMEs
to aim to access or accumulate these specific resources through
internationalization. The results indicate that perceived resource
constraints in terms of labor and finance spur SMEs to undertake
international activities with the aim to access or accumulate labor,
respectively finance.

To download this publication, please go to:
http://www.entrepreneurship-sme.eu/sys/cftags/assetnow/design/widgets/site/ctm_getFile.cfm?file=H200806.pdf&perId=0

Consultations:

NEW:

Ø Online Consultation on post-2012 climate change agreement

The European Commission has launched a public consultation on the post –
2012 climate change agreement, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol.
The consultation invites stakeholders to give their feedback on the ‘Bali Road
Map’, including the mid-term emission reduction actions for developed
countries, emission reduction actions for developing countries, adaptation to
climate change, technology cooperation and finance.

To access the online consultation, please go to:

http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=climatepost2012

Closes 29 September

ONGOING:

Ø Online Consultation on Combating Late Payments in Commercial Transactions

The Commission has launched an online consultation on combating late
payments in commercial transactions. Its aim is to explore possibilities to
propose better and more effective rules to combat late payments between
businesses or between public authorities and businesses within the EU. The
questionnaire seeks to gather views from small businesses on problems with
late payment under the current Directive 2000/35/EC on late payments, and
on possible means of ensuring more timely payment in commercial
transactions within the EU.

To access the online consultation, please go to:

http://ec.europa.eu/yourvoice/ipm/forms/dispatch?form=Latepayment&lang=en

Closes 31 August 2008

Ø Online consultation on Administrative Burdens Reduction

The European Commission has launched an online consultation on the
reduction of administrative burdens. Inspired by examples of Best Practice in
Belgium and the Netherlands, the consultation invites entrepreneurs to
identify unnecessary red tape in order to help the EU improve the quality of
its legislation. The consultation is part of the Action Programme to reduce
admin burdens on businesses in the EU by 25% in 2012.

To access the online consultation, please go to:

A5B5B/EU_Intelligence/Test_an_SME_Tool_.aspx

Closes 21 September 2008

COMING UP

SME related events

8-10 September 2008
5thEMN Annual Conference: “Microfinance – A tool for
growth and employment in Europe”, taking place in Nice.
The event is organized by the European Microfinance Network.
For more information, please go to:
http://www.european-microfinance.org/nice_en.php

10-11 September 2008
Sixth Annual WIPO Forum on Intellectual Property
and SMEs for Intellectual Property Offices and Other
Relevant Institutions in the OECD Countries, organized
by WIPO, taking place in Cardiff, Wales. For more information,
please go to: http://www.wipo.int/meetings/en/2008/smes_cwl_08/

15-16 September 2008
Conference on “Consolidating Research and Innovation for European SMEs”,
Paris; organised by the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union;
for more information, please go to: http://www.fp7.cz/dokums_raw/sme-days-2008-paris-908_2158.pdf

18 September 2008
EU Finance Day for SMEs, organized by the European Commission,
taking place in Berlin. For more information, please go to:
http://www.sme-finance-day.eu/

25 September 2008
EU Finance Day for SMEs, organized by the European Commission,
taking place in Stockholm. For more information, please go to:
http://www.sme-finance-day.eu/

4-7 November 2008
35th International Small Business Congress (ISBC 2008) & 31st Institute for
Small Business& Entrepreneurship Conference (ISBE 2008),
taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
For more information, please go to : www.isbc2008.org and www.isbe2008.org

6-14 Mai 2009
First European SME Week, organized by the European Commission.
The SME week will run from 6 to 14 May 2009, it will be launched
in Brussels on 6 May. For more information, please go to:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_measures/smeweek2009/index.htm

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