How does
SME Europe
work?

We are a strong voice for Europe's SMEs of all kinds.

SME Europe of the EPP operates for the rights of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in most areas. The first of our priorities is for our Board, the Senators, and Chairs of our Working Groups to further develop and advise on EU legislation for SMEs throughout Europe. To achieve this, we rely on the expertise of our national SME associations and on the experts operating in a variety of sectors. This unity and close collaboration is most important to us.

Entrepreneurs are given an early heads up on legal developments, whilst we receive their direct evaluation and assessment of the effects these will have on them.

Our goal is to link SME leaders to the legislators

SME Europe is also a platform for SME leaders to bring their own ideas or voice their concerns regarding the obstacles and opportunities offered by legislation, by engaging directly with decision makers. This direct connection is important for it is SMEs that are operating on the ground and are engaged daily in commercial activities, thus can deliver the most precise and immediate assessment to every initiative designed in Brussels.

SMEs have an important mediatory role in today’s society.

Europe’s SME sector is the engine of the EU economy. However to flourish, companies need employees with a spirit of initiative and legislators who understand the nature of entrepreneurship. We advocate for enabling and encouraging policies to stimulate SMEs as well as creativity, innovation, ongoing learning, agility and entrepreneurial spirit throughout society.

We are committed to support SMEs in Europe to adopt to climate neutrality, reap the benefits of digitalisation and improve access to finance.

Access to finance remains one of the greatest challenges SMEs are facing in the EU. Businesses are looking into alternative forms of finance, as crowd funding, etc, while calling for improved access to bank lending. Availability of new financial instruments would allow SMEs to pursue more risky projects and therefore forster innovation and ensure Europe remains globally competitive.

So, how does SME Europe work?

We gather information, opinions and positions both locally in Brussels and in the member states

mostly by means of organised public hearings and events, which give the opportunity for varying stakeholders from the European Parliament, European Commission as well as other institutional and industry representatives, associations, academia, and most certainly, SMEs, to interact with each other.

It is during these discussions that opinions, knowledge and positions are fairly exchanged with the ultimate goal of developing a common solution or at least a better understanding of the different positions, challenges, and visions for the future.

Another possibility is to contribute to the work of our working groups that are targeting the key actions of the EU SME Strategy to considerably increase the number of SMEs engaging in sustainable business practices as well as the number of SMEs employing digital technologies but also reducing regulatory burden, improving market access and access to finance. Ultimately, the goal is that Europe becomes the most attractive place to start a small business, make it grow and scale up in the single market.

Jörgen Warborn

Member of the European Parliament
President of SME Europe

Jörgen Warborn is a Swedish entrepreneur and politician of the Moderate Party. Jörgen Warborn studied Economics and Leadership at the International University of Monaco. He also studied International Relations at the London School of Economics, and Entrepreneurship at Babson College in Boston. Warborn started his first business at the age of 17 and has, since then, started and managed several small businesses, primarily in the IT and Marketing sector.

Warborn was Mayor of Varberg Municipality from the 2010 general election until his election into the Swedish Parliament in 2014. He was re-elected to the Swedish Riksdag in 2018. In addition to his role in parliament, Warborn briefly served as a Member of the Swedish delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in 2019 and he has been national Chairman of the Moderate Party’s business council since 2016.

In this current term of the European Parliament, Jörgen Warborn is a Member of the Committee on International Trade and a Substitute Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and the Committee on Legal Affairs. In addition, he is the EPP Group Coordinator in the Committee on International Trade.

FORMER PRESIDENTS

Ivan Štefanec

Member of the European Parliament Ret.
President 2018 - 2024

Is a Slovak politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Slovakia. He is a member of KDH, part of the European People’s Party.

Ivan Štefanec has had over 20 years of business experience and management with Ernst & Young, Coca-Cola and Business Alliance of Slovakia. He entered politics in 2006 and served as Member of Parliament, Governmental Plenipotentiary for Euro implementation, Chairman of EU Affairs Committee at the Slovak National Council. Ivan Štefanec was elected as Member of the European Parliament in the 2014 elections. He has since been serving as member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) focusing on Single Market, SMEs, Digitalisation

Bendt Bendtsen

Member of the European Parliament Ret.
President 2015 - 2018

Is a Danish politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from Denmark. He is a member of the Conservative People’s Party, part of the European People’s Party.

Bendt Bendtsen served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Trade and Industry (from 2001 to 2008) under Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Minister for Economy and Business Affairs and Minister for Nordic Cooperation (from 2001 to 2008). Bendt Bendtsen was elected as Member of the European Parliament in the 2009 elections. He has since been serving as member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Industry (ITRE)

Nadezhda Neynsky

Member of the European Parliament Ret.
President 2012 - 2015

Is a Bulgarian politician and is currently the Ambassador from Bulgaria to Turkey. She is a member of the Union of the Democratic Forces, part of the European People’s Party.

Nadezhda Neynsky served as Minister of Foreign Affairs (from 1997 to 2001), Member of the Bulgarian Parliament (from 2001 to 2008) and Member of the European Parliament (from 2009 to 2014) as a member of the Committee on Budgets (BUDG)

How does SME Europe work?