SME EUROPE Event: “A success story of the European SME Legislation” with Book presentation: “Entrepreneurs need freedom” by Dr. Paul Rübig MEP

By SME Europe

On Wednesday, 27th of November 2013 the SME Europe of the European People´s Party (EPP) organized an event “A success story of the European SME Legislation” with a book presentation “Entrepreneurs Need Freedom” by Dr. Paul RÜBIG MEP, EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and SME Europe Honorary President.

Dr. Paul RÜBIG MEP, EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy and SME Europe Honorary President welcomed the participants and opened the event. In his opening Dr. Paul RÜBIG MEP stated SMEs are synonym of dynamism, creativity and innovation, that is, entrepreneurship. Both in times of crisis and prosperity, our task as legislators is to generate and preserve an environment that fosters their creation and allows them to take advantage of the opportunities attached to transform them into catalysts of growth and employment.

Heinz K. BECKER MEP, Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, highlighted that entrepreneurship is important for economic growth, productivity, innovation and employment and from the political level, more ideas that lead to actions should arise as regards to the entrepreneurs.

Iuliu WINKLER MEP, SME Europe Vice-President, EP Committee on International Trade mentioned SMEs still fight against regulatory burden, difficult access to finance, fragmentation of the common market, unfriendly taxation, reduced cross-border activity. In this regard, the book of Dr. Paul Rübig has its own merits, describing in an accurate way the initiatives of the European Parliament for supporting the SMEs across Europe. “Entrepreneurs need freedom” could be seen also as an honest and useful handbook of the inner functioning and legislative procedure of the European Parliament.

Salvador SEDÓ I ALABART MEP, EP Committee on Industry, Research and Energy, Vice-President of SME Europe of the EPP stressed the importance of freedom for entrepreneurs. Freedom itself is a critical part of successful entrepreneurial efforts. At their core, entrepreneurs are creative problem-solvers. Though some problems or puzzles may be small, many others are quite large and complex, involving a great deal of investment. Time and capital are at risk. When conceiving, launching and growing a business, entrepreneurs must focus on the specific needs of their customers as well as the context of the marketplace around them. They need to know and believe that they have not only the freedom, but also the right, to create a better way to do things.

Johannes HAHN, European Commissioner for Regional Policy closed the discussion congratulating Dr. Paul RÜBIG MEP for his initiative and for the work in favor of SMEs.

The evening continued with a Cocktail reception o which all the participants were invited.

Gallery “A success story of the European SME Legislation” with Book presentation: “Entrepreneurs need freedom” by Dr. Paul Rübig MEP “

The publication of this document received financial support from the European Parliament. Sole liability rests with the author. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein.