The craft industry and small enterprises: keys to growth and employment in Europe, 2nd conference in Berlin

The committee adopted the report by Ms. Helena TORRES MARQUES (PES, P), on the Commission Communication SMEs role in generating growth and employment, holds that today's educational system must be changed in order to stimulate the creation of new SMEs. The report calls for a broad range of measures to improve the situation for SMEs, in particular by putting the political will to support SMEs into action by stepping up financial support to this sector, such as the Elise scheme for loan guarantees which is currently blocked in the Council. The main theme of the report is the need to lighten the heavy administrative burdens that the SMEs have to carry and to involve SMEs in the EU decision-making mechanisms to a greater extent.