Slutförhandlingarna om rapporten pågår just nu i utskottet och det finns en bred enighet mellan de stora partigrupperna bland annat om att större press måste sättas på kommissionen gällande de föreslagna åtgärdernas implementerande.
Läs Gunnar Hökmarks ursprungsförslag samt tillägg inför utskottsbehandlingen:
1. Underlines that the application of the ”Think Small First” principle at Community and national level requires the consistent implementation of the internal market rules and the Services Directive and an efficient follow-up by the Commission in order to secure that all obstacles are eliminated in accordance with those rules and calls for a horizontal enquiry regarding the preconditions for SMEs, corresponding to the sectoral enquiries made by Commision in different business sectors, to be conducted with a view of facilitating fair and open competition for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) all over Europe;
2a. Calls for One Stop-Shop for VAT in order to make it possible for entrepreneurs to fulfil their responsibilities in the business country of origin.
2. Calls for increased efforts to be made in implementing mutual recognition in order to facilitate cross-border activities of SMEs;
3a. Stresses the following aspects in order to facilitate SME participation in public procurement; relevant and proportionate qualification criteria in the specific tender, dividing tendering into smaller lots, access to tender information for the transparency in the tender procedures
3b. Acknowledges that the widespread use of late payments, also from public actors, creates a large scale problem for SMEs since they are vulnerable to variations in cash flow,
3c. Welcomes the ongoing review of the late payments directive and insists that the SME perspective is taken fully into account, reducing the occurrence and the abuse of late payments would facilitate for SMEs to better utilize the full potential of the Single Market.
3. Calls for better access for SMEs to public procurement as well as the opening up, where possible, of services of general interest to public tenders;
4. Underlines the importance of a Statute for a European Private Company;
5a. Supports the decision taken by the Council and the EIB to adopt a series of reforms to broaden SME finance products by the EIB group as well as offer a substantial development of its global loans to its banking partners, both in quantitative and qualitative terms.
5. Stresses that dynamic financial markets are essential for the financing of SMEs and underlines the need to open up European risk capital markets by improving the availability of and access to venture capital, mezzanine finance and micro-credit;
6a. Underlines the importance of progress in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations which would further reduce regulatory barriers to trade, barriers that effect SMEs disproportionally
6. Is of the opinion that any new legislation, for example in the field of payments, copyright, company law or State aid (such as the General block exemption Regulation ) should be formulated in such a way so as not to discriminate against SMEs but, rather, to support them and the provision of their services across the internal market;
7a. Underlines that the Small Business Act must aim to reduce hindrances for start-ups as well as for self-employed entrepreneurs while at the same time facilitating growth and the emergence of new businesses, providing the means and opportunities for innovative processes and competitiveness in European industries.
7b. Deplores Member States’ practice of ’gold plating’, which is especially harmful for SMEs, and calls upon the Commission to investigate what further measures might be taken to prevent it, including the introduction of a right of direct action for citizens; calls for ’follow-up impact assessments’ analysing how decisions are in fact implemented in Member States and at local level;
7c. Calls on the Commission to add indicative timetables to the large number of actions proposed in the Small Business Act, in order to report annualy of the achievements made and thereby ensuring that progress can be properly monitored
7. Takes the view that legislation regarding SMEs must be supportive of their growth and must not create artificial limits for their ability to take the lead in the development of European Economy.