Competitiveness, SMEs financing on the table at the Eurogroup

Brussels – Competitiveness passes through small and medium-sized enterprises. The road mapped out by the Draghi report to revitalize the European Union in a big way cannot ignore SMEs. The latter represent virtually the entire industrial production fabric of the EU, are 99 per cent of active businesses, and must be put at the centre of the “new Europe”, assuming the Draghi report is not revised downward by member states. Governments are beginning to think about how to nurture European SMEs. Next week’s Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg (Oct. 7) marks the start of a reasoning to secure and improve the financing they will need.

Also on the agenda is the financing of small and medium-sized enterprises. Let no one be under any illusions: the Eurogroup will not be the turning point, but only a discussion, a reasoning in view of the legislative proposals that the second von der Leyen committee will have to finalize once the formation process is completed, between auditions of commissioner candidates and the final vote. But EU sources assure that they are starting to think about ways, tools and options to “facilitate” SMEs financing. They do not want to waste time; on the contrary, they want to be prepared for when the European Commission is ready.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has a place in this still-embryonic thinking. It is looked to for channelling the resources needed to do business and do it better. It is no coincidence that the president of the European credit institution, Nadia Calviño, has been invited to discuss with the economic ministers of the member states (not only those in the euro area but also those in the EU countries without the single currency), for a presentation of what has been done and what could be done from here on.

The specific topic is part of the broader political goal of completing the capital market. As admitted in Brussels, it is “not exactly a pop topic,” yet fundamental to a new, greater economic weight of the EU on the global stage. “It is a topic that is in the Letta and Draghi reports, and the goal of the Eurogroup is to continue with the discussion,” the same EU sources assure.