Mary O'Rourke
Question:117 Mrs. O'Rourke asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the aims and objectives he has set for himself during Ireland's Presidency of the EU in the area of small businesses. [13911/96]
Written Answers. - EU Presidency.
The small business sector is of vital importance to the national economy and is a major priority for the Government. Complementing the priority given to small businesses at national level, I am determined that the small business sector will be given high priority at EU level during the six months of Ireland's Presidency.
One of the most important items on which we must strive to reach agreement during our Presidency is a new multiannual programme for SMEs and the craft sector. The programme provides the legal and budgetary basis for community enterprise policy actions which are not based on other general community policies and will cover the period 1997 to 2000.
The third programme proposes activities which are vital to the development of SMEs in Europe and reflects priorities identified by small businesses in Ireland in recent years. The five primary aims of the programme are: to simplify and improve the administrative and regulatory business environment; to improve the financial environment for enterprises; to help SMEs to Europeanise and internationalise their strategies, in particular through better information services; to enhance SME competitiveness and improve access to research, innovation and training; and to promote entrepreneurship and support special target groups such as small and craft enterprises. Ensuring agreement for this programme during the Irish Presidency will establish a work programme at EU level for the coming four years designed to enhance the operating invironment for small businesses and encourage growth and employment creation.
A revised integrated programme in favour of SMEs and the craft sector is currently under discussion within the Commission and the document is expected in the very near future. In this context, I am currently having discussions with the Commission with a view to bringing a resolution to Council with appropriate emphasis on the needs of small businesses.
In November, I will host a major SME forum in Dublin Castle which will be designed to identify best European practices in the area of support services to enterprises with particular emphasis on establishing the most appropriate services to meet the needs of enterprises in the start-up phase and early years of development. This forum, which will be part funded by the European Commission, will bring to Dublin almost 300 representatives from the 15 member states.
I am close to finalising agreement with the Commission on the holding of another forum in Dublin in December aimed specifically at small business and craft enterprises. The December forum will discuss key issues for small businesses and is part of the process for preparation for the Third European Conference on the Craft Industry and Small Enterprises which will be held in Milan in May of next year. The aim of the preparatory forum and the Milan forum is to ensure that the needs of small business are widely debated and taken into account in development of Community and national policies affecting them.
My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, has also taken a Presidency initiative in a research context. The EU RTD policy advisory committee CREST has established anad hoc working group, chaired by Ireland, to specifically address the role of SMEs in an RTD context. The group will do a comparative analysis of schemes and initiatives, at EU, national and regional level that foster SME participation in RTD activities. It will make recommendations which will: feed into the process for developing strategic aims-directions under the Fifth Framework Programme for RTD; ensure appropriate interface and complementarity between national and EU schemes; and optimise SME participation in these schemes.
Thead hoc group will shortly present its report which will be the subject of conclusions at the December Research Council.