Ahead of the European SME week, EuroCommerce gathered entrepreneurs from all over Europe and from all walks of commerce (retail, wholesale, and international trade) to exchange views among themselves and with the European Commission and Parliament on the major challenges they face in their daily life. On this first SME Day for commerce, EuroCommerce calls on the Commission and the Parliament to have the ‘think small first’ principle more enshrined in EU law-making and to make the regulatory environment more SME-friendly.

“We represent 6 million companies in Europe; 99% of them are SMEs, and they employ two-thirds of the people working in commerce. But also large retailers depend on an ecosystem that provides livelihood and growth opportunities to many small, and often local, suppliers. We therefore strongly urge the European Institutions to help SMEs recover from the crisis and be the engine of growth in Europe,” said Christian Verschueren, Director-General of EuroCommerce.

On this occasion, EuroCommerce presented its “six policy essentials” that would enable SMEs to contribute to an EU growth agenda. “More than ever, our SMEs need less red tape, better support to entrepreneurship and innovation, easier access to finance and foreign markets, and greater flexibility on the labour market”, concluded Christian Verschueren.

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For further information, please contact:

Marjolein Raes

Director of Advocacy & Communications

Tel: +32 2 737 05 99

raes@eurocommerce.be

EuroCommerce and the commerce sector

EuroCommerce represents the retail, wholesale and international trade sectors in Europe. Its membership includes commerce federations and companies in 31 European countries.

Commerce plays a unique role in the European economy, acting as the link between manufacturers and the nearly 500 million consumers across Europe over a billion times a day. It is a dynamic and labour-intensive sector, generating 11% of the EU’s GDP. One company out of three in Europe is active in the commerce sector. Over 99% of the 6 million companies in commerce are small and medium-sized enterprises. It also includes some of Europe’s most successful companies. The sector is a major source of employment creation: 33 million Europeans work in commerce, which is one of the few remaining job-creating activities in Europe. It also supports millions of dependent jobs throughout the supply chain from small local suppliers to international businesses.