SME Definition: ESBA Welcomes the European Parliament’s Decision to Maintain the Current status.
On 4 July 2018, The European Parliament adopted a Resolution on the definition of SMEs. Amidts calls to widen the scope of the definition to include more and larger companies, the Parliament has sensibly concluded that this is not a good idea.
Most notably Mid-Caps and German Mittelstand were to be included in the definition. ESBA has long advocated that it is very important to devote appropriate attention to these categories of business but that including them in the SME definition is not a good way to achieve this. Instead, Mid-Caps and Mittelstand should be given their own category, which the Parliament has now underlined.
Most of all, ESBA has urged the institutions for many years that, rather than widening the scope of the definition, more attention needs to be spent on understanding the different categories within the SME spectrum. A micro company is an entirely different animal than a medium-sized company. Yet, in many cases, they need to adhere to the same rules and regulations. It is therefore very important that the Parliament has made special acknowledgement of start-ups and micro-enterprises and thus the acronym MSMEs.
Whilst it is important to safeguard the current definition against abuse by companies that are not true SMEs, maintaining the current scope is the right way to go. ESBA urges the Commission and the Member States to follow the Parliament’s lead.
ENDS
For questions and inquiries, please contact ESBA Secretary General, Patrick Gibbels
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