Transcript Ms. Brigitte Degen from The European Commission

Entrepreneurship
in the EU policies
Brigitte DEGEN
Youth employment, Entrepreneurship, Microfinance Facility
Unit
DG Employment, Social Affairs & Inclusion
European Commission
Entrepreneurial landscape in the EU
Varying appetite for entrepreneurship
If you could decide between different types of
jobs, which one would you prefer?
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
EU27
US
self-employed
China
Japan
Korea
employee
Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009
Preference for self-employment
80
70
50
40
30
20
Countries
Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009
SK
BE
DK
SE
CZ
MT
JN
HU
ES
AT
DE
FI
NL
NO
HR
CH
LU
EE
EU27
UK
LV
SI
IE
LT
BG
TR
PL
FR
KR
PT
RO
IT
US
IS
EL
0
CY
10
CN
Percentage
60
Greatest fears when starting up a business – EU27
First mentions
Second mentions
The possibility of going bankrupt
28
The uncertainty of your income
21
22
The risk of losing your property
18
18
19
Job insecurity
9
11
The possibility of personal failure
8
10
Need too much energy or time
8
7
49
40
37
20
18
15
Q14. If you were to set up a business today, which are the two risks
you would be most afraid of? Is it:
Base: all respondents, EU27
Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009
Barriers to entreneurship – EU27
Strongly agree
Agree
Disagree
Strongly disagree
It is difficult to start one's own business due to a
lack of available financial support
It is difficult to start one's own business due to
the complex administrative procedures
It is difficult to obtain sufficient information on
how to start a business
People who have started their own business and
have failed should be given a second chance
One should not start a business if there is a risk
it might fail
35
46
29
17
10 2 7
42
34
28
19
DK/NA
16 4 9
29
53
31
9 12
10 3 7
33
13 5
Q18. Do you strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree with
the following opinion?
Base: all respondents, EU27
Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009
SMEs however are the engine of Europe’s economy



23 million SMEs in Europe representing:
 58% of the value added in goods & services
 2/3 of total private sector employment
 80% of new jobs
 99.8% of all companies
 92% employ less than 10 persons
A significant share of new jobs in the EU is created by
newly established firms, of which almost 85% by
micro-firms.
In the EU, these firms generate on average nearly
2 jobs, in some Member States up to 3.
Small Business Act for for Europe (1)
 Adopted in June 2008
 3 main objectives- Promote:
 SMEs’ growth,
 Entrepreneurship, and
 the “Think Small First” principle
 10 principles and a set of policy actions to
implement them (both for the MS and the COM)
 About 90 policy initiatives and 5 legislative acts
Small Business Act for for Europe (2)
The 10 principles:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Entrepreneurship
2nd chance
“Think Small First”
Public administration
Public procurement + state aid
Access to finance
Single Market
Skills and Innovation
Eco-innovation
External markets
Small Business Act for for Europe (3)
 Principle1 reads as follows:
 The EU and Member States should create an
environment within which entrepreneurs and family
businesses can thrive and entrepreneurship is
rewarded.
 They need to care for future entrepreneurs better,
in particular by fostering entrepreneurial interest
and talent, particularly among young people and
women, and by simplifying the conditions for
business transfers.
Promotion of entrepreneurship by DG ENTR
In particular:
 2nd chance for entrepreneurs
 Erasmus for “young” entrepreneurs
 Promotion of female entrepreneurship
(ambassadors & mentors)
 Promotion of entrepreneurship education
 Support to creation and transfer of business
 Better Access to finance
 Support to SMEs internationalisation
 Enterprise Europe Network
 European SME Week
Entrepreneurship
at the heart of
Europe2020 strategy
(adopted in 2010)
EU economy: what is the picture?
 23 million people (on average 10% of active population)
now unemployed
 In 2009, EU GDP fell by 4% ; industrial production
dropped by 20% to 1990s levels
 National deficits at 7% of GDP on average, national
debts at over 80% of GDP on average
 EU‘s growth potential has halved as a result of the crisis
Europe 2020: 3 interlinked priorities
 Smart growth: developing an economy
based on knowledge and innovation
 Sustainable growth: promoting a more
efficient, greener and more competitive
economy
 Inclusive growth: fostering a highemployment economy delivering social and
territorial cohesion
14
Europe 2020: 5 headline targets
By 2020:
 75 % of the population aged 20-64 should be
employed
 3% of the EU's GDP should be invested in R&D
 The "20/20/20" climate/energy targets should
be met (including an increase to 30% of
emissions reduction if the conditions are right)
 The share of early school leavers should be
under 10% and at least 40% of the younger
generation should have a tertiary degree
 20 million less people should be at risk of
poverty
7 Flagship initiatives
Of which 3 linked to employment & social inclusion with
actions to promote entrepreneurship and/or selfemployment:
 Agenda on New skills for new jobs: Member
States are invited to remove measures that
discourage self-employment
 Youth on the move will dedicate a section to
supporting youth entrepreneurship and selfemployment.
 European platform against poverty will refer to
the role microfinance and entrepreneurship can
play in overcoming social exclusion
Plus
 An industrial policy for the globalisation era
to improve the business environment, notably for
SMEs
Achieving employment target of 75% for 2020
by job creation
Up until now, Europe is far from exploiting its full potential in this
respect:
 The rate of business creation on a European average is estimated
at around 4.5 %, compared to 8% in the USA.
 Entrepreneurship is less attractive for women
 Men are twice more likely to be involved in early-stage
entrepreneurial activity than women
Need for expanding the scope of entrepreneurship promotion!
 While DG ENTR activities concentrate on competitiveness &
innovation (i.e. fast-growing start-ups "gazelles" and innovative
SMEs)
 DG EMPL activities developed from an employment and social
inclusion perspective, therefore complementary to those of DG
ENTR
Promotion of entrepreneurship &
self-employment by DG EMPL (1)
 A new Unit created in January 2011
 With a mandate still under approval by EMPL
hierarchy, which will focus on:
 business start-ups by unemployed and people
from disadvantaged groups, as well as on
 the sustainability and quality of work of selfemployed business owners and microentrepreneurs.
 Building upon (mostly) already existing
activities, main aim is to better coordinate
and create synergies inside EMPL and with
other concerned DGs (EAC, ECFIN, ENTR,
ESTAT, JUST, REGIO, RTD)
Promotion of entrepreneurship &
self-employment by DG EMPL (2)

Framework of action around 4
objectives:
1. Increase knowledge on entrepreneurship and
self-employment
2. Raise awareness, facilitate mutual learning and
build capacities in EU Member States and regions
3. Promote voluntary standards and protective
measures for entrepreneurship and selfemployment
4. Support entrepreneurship financially
Promotion of entrepreneurship &
self-employment by DG EMPL (3)

A few examples of concrete activities:
1. First report on "entrepreneurial activity in
Europe" focus of which will be the social and
employment aspects of entrepreneurship (in
particular by economically and socially
disadvantaged groups).
2. Capacity building in improving quality &
performance of support systems for business
starters from vulnerable groups – Via an open
call for tenders, assistance will be accessible to
national and regional authorities and responsible
public bodies (i.a. business service providers and
financial intermediaries) willing to improve the
quality of their entrepreneurial support systems.
Promotion of entrepreneurship &
self-employment by DG EMPL (4)
3. Integration of entrepreneurship in the
guiding principles for job creation as
announced in the flagship initiative "Agenda for
New Skills and Jobs". In particular, focus on ways
to address administrative and legal obstacles to
creating new businesses and to self-employment,
and on effective support to entrepreneurship.
4. * Encouraging Member States to prepare for
more, and more effective support towards
entrepreneurship under the new ESF
** Facilitating access to finance through the
European Progress Microfinance Facility
Some relevant links – DG ENTR
Your Europe Business Portal
 http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/business/index_en.htm
Promoting entrepreneurship
 http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promotingentrepreneurship/index_en.htm
SME Portal
 http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/index_en.htm
Enterprise Europe network
 http://www.enterprise-europenetwork.ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm
CIP financial instruments
 www.access2finance.eu
European SME Week
 http://ec.europa.eu/sme-week
Some relevant links – DG EMPL
European Progress Microfinance Facility
 www.ec.europa/epmf
ESF support to entrepreneurship
 http://ec.europa.eu/esf
Supporting entrepreneurs and the self-employed
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=952&lang
Id=en
Social Europe
 http://ec.europa.eu/social
More on EU micro-credit initiatives
 www.ec.europa.eu/microfinance
