Quote of the Week: "In simplest terms, a leader is one who knows where he
wants to go, and gets up, and goes." - John Erksine
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ESBA WEEKLY of Friday 29 June 2001 - VOL 3 - N° 29
Headlines of WEEK 26:
- EU / SOCIAL: EC proposes quality indicators for jobs and labour markets
- EU / E-COMMERCE: Euro Info Centres (EICs) to promote GoDigitial
- EU / FINANCE: Capital adequacy: Revision postponed to 2005
- EU / SINGLE MARKET: EC consultation on modernising internal market
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EU / SOCIAL
Brussels 20/06/2001: Quality indicators for jobs and labour markets
The EC proposals follow the Lisbon Council where long term investment in
human resource capital was high on the political agenda and the Social
Agenda approved in Nice where the European social model, a (so called)
quality-based model, was one of the main priorities. The quality
indicators should complement the already existing quantitative targets of
the European Employment Strategy and its annual review. The policy method
chosen is again via benchmarking and best practices (governments, social
partners and non-government organisations). The Belgian Presidency of the
European Council, starting on the 1st of July 2001, intends to approve the
proposal during the European Summit of Laeken in December.
Proposed job indicators are: job satisfaction, remuneration, non-pay
rewards, working time, skills and training prospects, and job content.
Proposed work environment/labour market indicators are: gender equality,
health and safety at work, flexibility and security of employment, access
to jobs, work/life balance, social dialogue and worker involvement,
diversity, and non-discrimination.
More info:
http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment_social/news/2001/jun/152_en.html
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EU / E-COMMERCE
Brussels 25/06/2001: Euro Info Centres (EICs) to promote GoDigitial
>From September 2001 onwards, the EICs will launch a campaign for SMEs on
how to implement electronic business, in connection with the GoDigital
action plan (see ESBA Weekly - Vol 3 - N 15).
Foreseen activities include: workshops on practical aspects and advice on
strategic aspects of e-business; web sites; partner search services; and
hotline services. Each national campaign will provide a targeted range of
services, tailored to the needs of SMEs in the respective country.
More info:
http://europa.eu.int/ISPO/ecommerce/godigital/EICebusinesscampaign.htm
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EU / FINANCE
Brussels 26/06/2001: Capital adequacy: Revision postponed to 2005
The European Commission has welcomed an announcement from the Basel
Committee on Banking Supervision that, following responses (see ESBA
Weekly - Vol 3 - N 17) to its proposals to revise the 1998 Capital Accord,
it will extend its timetable for revision and implementation of the new
Accord to 2005, with an additional round of consultation in early 2002.
The Basel Committee decided to make further efforts to ensure that the new
proposals deliver an appropriate treatment of credit exposures related to
SMEs. This is likely to lead to lower capital requirements for lending to
such businesses than would have resulted from the proposals contained in
the Committee's January 2001 consultation paper.
IT SEEMS THAT THE CONCERNS EXPRESSED BY ALL SMEs ORGANISATIONS, INCLUDING
ESBA, ON THE TIGHT CONSULTATION SCHEDULE HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT FOR
THE MOMENT. ESBA HOPES THAT THIS EXTENSION OF THE CONSULTATION TIME WILL
GIVE SMEs THE OCCASION TO BE MORE FULLY INVOLVED IN THE PREPARATION OF
ANOTHER DRAFT NEW CAPITAL ACCORD BY THE BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING
SUPERVISION
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EU / SINGLE MARKET
Brussels 28/06/2001: EC consultation on modernising internal market
The consultation of business stakeholders should identify remaining
obstacles to the free movement of goods in the EU and explore how best to
adapt regulatory tools to innovation and technological change. The
consultation should focus on three main issues: enhancing the current
technical harmonisation arrangements for industrial products, managing the
internal market acquis, and developing a new Community approach to
fast-changing sectors.
The consultation will use the recently launched Interactive Policy Making
Mechanism (See ESBA Weekly - Vol 3 - N 19). The Commission will publish
the consultation findings and draw up an action plan to address business
concerns before the end of 2001 still.
More info & questionnaire:
http://www.europa.eu.int/BFM/consultation/index.cfm
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The ESBA Weekly is now sent to an increasing amount of persons with a
direct interest in SMEs.
This bulletin is made in cooperation with LOGOS (http://www.logos-eu.com).
