SME Congress in Spain

Ms. de Felipe, President of AFAEMME and of the Catalan Federation of SMEs (FEPIME), has organized a Congress in Barcelona to talk about the situation of Catalan, Spanish and European SMEs.

The Congress, which took place last July 2nd in Barcelona (Spain), counted on the participation of high level speakers such as Ms. Almgrem, President of the European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, UEAPME; Ms. de Gispert, President of the Catalan Parliament; Ms. Munté, Vice-President of the Catalan Government; Mr. Tarradellas, representative of the European Commission in Barcelona; Mr. Puig, Minister for Economy and Employment of the Catalan Government; Mr. Navarro, Vice-President of the Spanish Confederation of SMEs (CEPYME); and Mr. Gay de Montellà, President of the Catalan Employers Organization (FOMENT).

Ms. Almgrem highlighted the role of SMEs in achieving economic growth in Europe and advocated for a greater social acknowledgment of the importance of business activities. She also highlighted the role of the European Union in trying to create an easier and better environment for the European SMEs although it is clear that several goals still have to been achieved (better access to funding, SME-friendlier tax regulation, better acces to energy, better access to market, less bureaucracy...).

Mr. Tarradellas summarized this EU efforts by briefly talking about the Small Business Act with its 3 main strategic axis: 1) simplified bureaucracy, 2) better access to funding; 3) support entrepreneurship (especially among women and the younger generations).