Plenary Session: A new strategy for European SMEs
A new strategy for European SMEs (A9-0237/2020 - Paolo Borchia)
I voted in favour of this report for listing the concerns raised by the tremendous impacts of the pandemic on SMEs, not forgetting that they represent the backbone of the European economy, and should, therefore, be a central part of a recovery plan that pursues the dictates of an environmentally sustainable, just and digital economy.
In this sense, a strategy based on four pillars must be devised: training and support for SMEs in the respective and desired digital and green transition; reduction of regulatory bureaucracies with corresponding flexibilization of market access mechanisms; promotion of instruments that allow easier and faster access to funding; and policy coordination for SMEs at national and community level.
However, it should be added that, at this moment, concrete measures and a timetable for their implementation are scarce. Thus, it’s urgent to establish a more concrete framework of measures, combined with the stipulation of time-bound goals adjusted to the current situation.
As a final note, I highlight the need to collect disaggregated data with regard to gender, in order to consider measures specifically aimed at the female gender, with a view to increasing the number of founders and managers of companies.
Guerreiro wants to avoid misleading use of the term “natural” on food products
Wednesday, 10 February 2021
Under the initiative of MEP Francisco Guerreiro (Greens/EFA), MEPs want to avoid the misleading use of the term “natural” on food products and ask the European Commission to provide a clear definition of “natural” in the European Union’s food legislation.READ MORE