Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan: Who Wants To Be an Entrepreneur?

The number of people wishing to set up their own business declines in the EU. As numerous surveys show, the number of EU citizens who want to be their own bosses dropped from 45 percent in 2009 to 37 percent in 2012 and this number is expected to go even further down. Although the number of entrepreneurial aspirants declines also in other world economic centers, the drop in the EU is more evident. For these reasons, the European Commission decided to come up with a new strategy formulated in Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan.

One of the main goals of the Action Plan is to improve the image of entrepreneurs in the society and increase the attractiveness of entrepreneurship among EU citizens, as it is the most powerful driver of economic growth. Therefore, the Action Plan includes policy measures that should simplify the whole process of setting up a business from access to finance to business transfer facilitation and second chance for honest entrepreneurs after bankruptcy. Furthermore, it focuses on unleashing the entrepreneurial potential in certain specific segments of the population, like women, seniors or unemployed.

Czech business and employers ́ associations together with the European ones generally welcome the launch of the Action Plan. They agree that it is crucial to contribute to the creation of the environment that stimulates entrepreneurial potential. Above all, Czech business organizations especially appreciated the emphasis given to entrepreneurial education on all levels, from basic schools to universities. This measure is also important to change the way young Europeans perceive self-employment and to bring up new generation of entrepreneurs. The focus on ICT and innovative businesses that show much higher growth rates is also appreciated. However, as the business organizations stress, the new Action Plan should not, in any case, undermine the initiatives that are already in place, especially Small Business Act and Single Market Act I and II.

SME support initiatives should not overlap each other as it could disintegrate the efforts and jeopardize the outcome of all these initiatives. The measures presented in the Action Plan are not revolutionary by themselves, however, if implemented properly, they could revolutionize the EU entrepreneurship in the future.