European Observatory for SMEs. 5th annual report 1997

The Committee has adopted the report by MR Michel SCARBONCHI (ERA, F) on the 5th annual report from the European Observatory for SME's. The Committee welcomes "The European SME Scoreboard" launched by the Observatory, and notes that much more still needs to be done concerning the simplification and improvement of the legal framework for SMEs. The Committee also makes a number recommendations as to EU aid programmes could be better targeted towards SMEs, in particular for SMEs in rural areas and SMEs in the tourist sector. Specific aid should also be introduced to help SMEs with the changeover to the Euro. Finally, the Committee asks the Observatory to, in its next report,, also study the impact of changes in social security systems on SMEs, as well as, how to increase the use of bench marking for SMEs. The Committee also asks for a survey among Member States on access to capital for SMEs. �