Tajani unveils plan to make entrepreneurship more attractive

The European Commission has urged member states to change their tax regimes to be more encouraging to small businesses. It said it would be identifying best practices across the EU that were conducive to “an entrepreneur-friendly fiscal environment”.

Launching an action plan for entrepreneurship (9 January), Antonio Tajani, the European commissioner for industry and entrepreneurship, stressed the importance of tax regimes to small businesses and invite member states to:

• make tax administration more favorable to early-stage business
• promote cross-border tax co-ordination to minimise double taxation and other barriers to cross-border enterprise
• reassess corporate income tax regimes
• implement the option for small businesses of a cash accounting scheme for value-added tax
• allow owners of new businesses to ask for adjustments to their payment schedules for social security contributions

Tajani said he would be asking the Irish government, which has just taken on the presidency of the Council of Ministers, to put the action plan on the agenda of one of the meetings of the Competitiveness Council during its presidency.

Source.

The European Commission’s Communication “Rethinking Education”

European education and training systems continue to fall short in providing the right skills for employability, and are not working adequately with business or employers to bring the learning experience closer to the reality of the working environment. These skills mismatches are a growing concern for European industry's competitiveness, says the most recent Communication of the European Commission, appealing to EU Member States to set actions. 

The Communication underlines the importance of tapping on the potential of ICT for education and teaching and highlights the need to develop transversal skills (such as problem solving, team work etc. often also referred to as soft skills) and entrepreneurial skills as they not only contribute to new business creation but also to the employability of young people. 

In this respect, the Communication emphasises at several instances the importance of languages. In a world of international exchanges, the ability to speak foreign languages is a factor for competitiveness. Languages are more and more important to increase levels of employability and mobility of young people.

Further education in STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – is needed if Europe wants to compete with countries like Brazil, China and India that spend more on high skilled STEM education than the USA, Japan and UK together. 

More information about the full document.

European consultation on cyber incidents to prepare a legislation proposal on e-security

The European Commission is seeking the views of governments, businesses, citizens about their experiences and EU possible responses to cyber incidents to help it prepare a legislative proposal on network and information security, which will be an important element of the upcoming EU strategy on Cyber security. Feedback received will help the Commission draw up an approach to possible future risk management and security breach reporting requirements that would affect businesses in particular. The consultation runs until 12 October 2012.

Cyber incidents are becoming more frequent. In 2011, web-based attacks increased by 36% over one year and there was a five-fold increase in companies reporting security incidents with a financial impact between 2007 and 2010 (5%-20%). And the risk is growing. In the next decade there is a 10% risk of a major Critical Information Infrastructure incident causing more than $250 billion in economic damage, according to the World Economic Forum.

This is also a global challenge since many cyber incidents and attacks originate outside the EU. The overarching aim of the Strategy is to ensure a secure and trustworthy digital environment where EU fundamental rights and core values, are promoted and protected.


More information about this European consultation.

the 1st European Conference on e-Public Procurement

On 23 March 2013, the 1st European Conference on e-Public Procurement and 1st Exhibition of European e-Platforms takes place in Barcelona, Spain. European Commission invested e-public procurement that can play a strategic role:

• To generate public savings through improved sourcing and more effective competition between suppliers
• To increase transparency and fair decision making to award public contracts
• To help SMEs to participate in public markets
• To stimulate innovation and the development of e-marketplaces
• To promote a low-carbon society and more sustainable growth

More information about the programme of this conference

Top 16 questions and answers about FP7 2013 work programme

How does investment in R&I help tackle the economic and financial crisis? What is being done for the environment? What measures will help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) innovate? Or what specific initiatives will bring more results to the market? are some of the 16 questions answered by the European Commission about the FP7 2013 Work Programme.

More information about the 16 questions and answers about FP7 2013 work programme

SMEs create more and better jobs

According to a recent study of the European Commission analyzing the important role small and medium sized enterprises play in creating more and better jobs, SMEs provide a vital contribution to the European economy. Actually, they are responsible for more than two thirds of the total employment in the private sectors and 85% of the net job growth. We understand easily how SMEs are primordial for the economic recovery and for reducing the negative employment effects of the crisis. 

This European study provides statistical evidence and analysis of:

- the quantity of jobs SMEs deliver, and how it has changed over time, with a focus on the recent crisis.

- the quality of jobs SMEs deliver, with a view to shed light on the nexus between the creation of jobs in Europe's SMEs and the simultaneous improvement of the competitiveness of the EU SME sector.

More information about this European study

European Union & Argentina : business in trouble ?

The European Union launched a challenge to Argentina's import restrictions 4 days ago at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva. It is first requesting consultations with Argentina in a bid to have these measures lifted.

The restrictive measures which negatively affect the EU's trade and investment include Argentina's import licensing regime and notably the procedures to obtain an import licence as well as the obligation on companies to balance imports with exports. Consultations give the EU and Argentina the opportunity to discuss the matter and to find a satisfactory solution without resorting to litigation. If no solution is found within 60 days, then the EU can request a WTO Panel to be established to rule on the legality of Argentina's actions.

Three measures which run contrary to WTO rules for a transparent, free and fair trading system will be discussed in particular :

▪ Argentina subjects the import of all goods to a pre-registration and pre-approval regime, called the "Declaración Jurada Anticipada de Importación" applied to all imports.

▪ Hundreds of goods also need an import license and are systematically delayed or refused on non-transparent grounds on the basis of these procedures.

▪ Argentina requires importers to balance imports with exports, or to increase the local content of the products they manufacture in Argentina, or not to transfer revenues abroad. In addition, this practice seems to be a condition for obtaining the license allowing imports of their goods. 

More information about this challenge

More information about the relations between EU & Argentina

EU: "Job creation must become a real European priority"

While unemployment is hitting records across the 27 EU member states, the European Commission presents a set of measures to boost jobs. It also identifies the green economy, health services and ICT as areas with the biggest job potential in the future. "All together, the green economy, the health and new technology sectors will create more than 20 millions of jobs in the years to come. Member States need to seize these opportunities, mobilize existing resources and stimulate their labour market in close cooperation with the social partners." said Barroso. In pratical terms, members states are encourage hiring by reducing taxes on labour or supporting business start-ups more. "Job creation must become a real European priority" said László Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. The employment package aims to create a genuine EU labour market to restore growth and to face major structural changes and includes proposals such as :

- Create the right conditions for job creation and labour demand such as hiring subsidies that create new jobs, a (budget neutral) tax shift from labour to environmental taxes, or support for self-employment.

- Exploit the big job potential areas for the future such as the green economy where 20 million jobs could be created between now and 2020 and to include green employment into their’ National Job Plans, strengthening green skills intelligence

- Support an increase in highly qualified ICT labour and promote digital skills across the workforce.

- To improve the matching of jobs with job-seekers, the package proposes to transform the EURES job seeker portal into a true European placement and recruitment tool and foresees (as of 2013) innovative online self-service applications to provide users instantly with a clear geographical mapping of European job offers.

More information on europa.eu

The European Commission will present tomorrow proposals to foster a neutral and competitive Internet

In a draft proposal seen by EurActiv, the European Commission does its homework on possible infringements of net neutrality but prefers to adopt a wait-and-see approach before coming up with concrete measures to prevent network operators and Internet providers from forging monopolies.

Large industry is in favor of this proposal for its prudence, while consumer groups and activists lament the lack of substance.

As more European media consumption – such as radio, TV, telephony and video conferencing – migrates to the web, regulators are concerned about operators' attempts to block or slow down services which compete with their own or don't yield much profit, effectively creating fast lanes and slow lanes for different services.

The EU paper admits that problems have been detected such as blocking of Internet telephony and anticompetitive traffic management, but also claims these have so far been dealt with by a national regulator or negative media coverage.

Source EurActiv
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