The European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (UEAPME) has criticised European Union member states for their 'timid' progress on implementing the measures contained in the Small Business Act.

Speaking on Monday at the final conference of the European SME Week, UEAPME Secretary General Andrea Benassi unveiled the main findings of the Association's “Think Small Test” and “SBA Implementation Scoreboard”, which aimed to assess whether EU institutions and Member States are fulfilling their commitment to respect the “Think Small First” principle, and implementing the promises made in the Small Business Act.

At EU level, the survey found that that the European institutions had made steps forward in implementing the “better regulation” agenda, but that SMEs had come a poor third to banks and larger businesses when business support measures were being considered.

At national level, the Association announced, advancements were recorded with regard to the “Think Small First” principle in 11 countries compared to 2009. However, it went on to reveal that Member States have made barely any progress on the concrete measures linked to the Small Business Act.

“One year after its entry into force, our survey clearly demonstrates that the expectations raised in SMEs by the Small Business Act have been met only partially and that much remains to be done”, observed Mr Benassi.

He continued:

“On the positive side, the EU institutions have now embraced the 'better regulation' strategy and most Member States seem to have understood the importance of the 'Think Small First' principle. On the negative side, however, the EU seemed to favour support for banks and larger enterprises rather than for SMEs during the crisis, and many concrete initiatives contained in the Small Business Act have stayed on paper due to many Member States' sluggishness or outright reluctance to act.”

And concluded:

“By promising to set up a comprehensive policy framework for SMEs with the Small Business Act, policymakers have raised the bar of our expectations very high. Unfortunately, Member States have largely failed to deliver so far, with concrete dossiers still pending or unapplied due to national governments' lukewarm commitment. If we want to get SMEs on the road to recovery, Member States must roll up their sleeves and build this road first.”

The Small Business Act, adopted in 2008 was a set of 10 principles (including 4 legislative proposals) which, according to the European Commission, "should guide the conception and implementation of policies both at EU and national level".

The Act was designed to focus attention on:

- Promoting entrepreneurship, via various measures, including improved education in this area, and initiatives such as Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs.

- Reducing the administrative burden for SMEs, with all new European legislation to pass through an "SME test" to ensure that it is business friendly.

- Improving access to finance, via simplified EU state aid rules, which were intended to allow member states to provide better assistance to SMEs, through increased access to loans and other funding, and reduced accounting requirements for micro-businesses.

- Improving access to markets by increasing the ability of SMEs to participate in the public procurement process, reducing the fees and administration associated with registering a trademark in the EU, and facilitating the cross-border provision of services.