EurActiv, the leading online media reporting on EU affairs and policy issues, will run special coverage, from 26  to 30 September, on SMEs’ access to finance. In this Special Report, EurActiv journalists will consider how the EU proposes to square the problem of worsening credit availability in the general market with its desire to grow the SME sector. They will be assessing the current financial landscape for SMEs and looking at what initiatives are on the horizon. These include new funding programmes, structural changes such as the new SME envoys, and attempts to redefine SMEs.

You can follow the Special Report stories here.

This Special Report is supported by the European Investment Fund.

Media contacts:

Frédéric Simon, Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.78, editor2@euractiv.com

Daniela Vincenti-Mitchener, Managing Editor, Tel. +32(0)2.788.36.69, news@euractiv.com

Dominic Ostyn, Communications Manager: +32(0)2.788.36.88, communication@euractiv.com

Christophe Leclercq, Publisher, +32(0)2.226.58.13, publisher@euractiv.com

Note to the editor: 

www.EurActiv.com is the independent online media network dedicated to EU policy, counting 609,000 monthly unique visitors together with the Web 2.0 platform Blogactiv.eu. Set up in 1999, the network is an important working instrument for actors (institutions, industry federations, NGOs, think tanks, the press and others) involved in defining or influencing EU policies. The EurActiv Network publishes EU policy news and information in 12 languages from offices in the capitals of 12 European countries: Bulgaria, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom and Turkey. The Network's national policy portals are accessible here www.euractiv.com/en/Fixed/about/crosslingual.htm

In order to provide free services and ensure independence, EurActiv's services are financed from four sources: corporate sponsoring, EurActor membership, online advertising and EU projects. General sponsors of www.EurActiv.com are: Assembly of European Regions / GE Energy, Enel, First Solar, the Nickel Institute, People First Foundation, United Technologies and VISA Europe. Section sponsors of www.EurActiv.com are: ArcelorMittal, Boeing, Camfil, Coca-Cola, Dow, Euro-ciett, ExxonMobil, General Electric, Honeywell, Microsoft, MSD, Swiss Mission to the EU, Trans Adriatic Pipeline, Unilever and Yara. Further supporters include: Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. EurActiv also has 60 “content partners” (NGOs & think tanks) as well as ca. 500 “contributors”, providing their policy positions for free publication, based on EurActiv's editorial discretion. Input welcome: editor@euractiv.com.

EurActiv content extracts can be re-used freely by other media, subject to clear attribution, and copy sent to content@euractiv.com.