Business in Europe, EU – Baltic States, Good for Business, Markets and Companies

The Enterprise Europe Network is aimed to promote entrepreneurship and is an important instrument in the implementation of Europe-2020 strategy and the Small Business Act. It is embedded in business support organisations such as Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Chambers of Craft, innovation development agencies, technology centres and research institutions, distinguished by their proximity to SMEs and their access to an EU-wide network of experts in European business. 

The Network was created by DG Enterprise & Industry and is a key part of the EU’s Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, which aims to encourage competitiveness in European businesses. It is managed by the Executive Agency for Competitiveness & Innovation (EACI).

Commission’s approach

The Commission has highly valued the EENetwork’s activity. Thus, European Commission’s Vice-President Antonio Tajani, responsible for enterprise and industry policy, said that the Network represented a milestone in the Union’s strategy for promoting entrepreneurship and the growth of business. “European SMEs have generated a multitude jobs over the past 10 years, the Network provides concrete European added value and will help them to grow further”, he added.

This process will be bolstered by the Small Business Act which is aimed to provide efficient support for entrepreneurs.

See: IP/11/384, Brussels, 31 March 2011.

Providing services

With over 3000 professionals participating, the Network is present in every region of the European Union and in 21 Third Country markets to serve the needs of European SMEs. It provides integrated support services designed to help small enterprises do business abroad and find European funding for their research and innovation projects.

In about three years, the Network has provided services to more than 2,5 mln SMEs and assisted  more than 600,000 participants. It has also attracted around 35 000 small businesses to international brokerage events and company missions.

The Network has helped around 4 500 SMEs to acquire business cooperation, technology transfer or research partners abroad.

The Commission mentioned several examples:

• a British company who used the Network to find a market application in the automotive safety sector for its chemicals detector;
• a Latvian language software developer who found a partner for a winning FP7 research funding proposal;
• a French family-owned sanitation firm that managed to navigate the labyrinth of tax legislation for cross-border services in Luxembourg with the help of a local Network partner.

The Enterprise Europe Network is also a unique way for SMEs to take part in European policy making. The Network consults companies on upcoming European legislation and gathers their opinions on existing regulation. Using the Network's mechanisms, more than 10 000 expert opinions have already been collected which has contributed to the Union’s legislative process in business activities.

For more information see:

- Success Stories of the Enterprise Europe Network , and

- Small Business Act