EESC: SMEs at the heart of the recovery

EESC September plenary, for some Members the last plenary during the mandate, was rich in interesting opinions.

In an opinion on SME strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe, the EESC pointed out two ways in which the EU can help SMEs recover from the COVID-crisis and face the digital future. In the Committee’s view, SMEs should be placed at the heart of all of Europe’s key political decisions – the Green Deal, the Industrial Strategy, the EU budget and the Recovery Plan for Europe. EESC advises the European Commission to make the Small Business Act and its principles legally binding. This must be accompanied by swift, carefully-designed, coordinated joint actions by the European Union, the Member States– including at regional and local levels – and business associations, aimed at improving the situation for SMEs in real terms. EESC also calls for better policy-making and more effective delivery. It also states that without an evidence-based approach and practical actions to support SMEs, it will be difficult to achieve the goals of the strategy.

At the September plenary, EESC Members also adopted an opinion on Decent minimum wages across Europe. It gives its input to the debate on the need for EU action on minimum wages launched by the Commission. The EESC says the majority of its constituents see such action as necessary to ensure a decent standard of living for all EU workers. The EESC Employers’ Group has voiced its opposition, supporting the view that the EU has no competence over pay and that setting minimum wages is a matter for the national level. While recognising the complexity of the issue, the EESC believes that social partners are the best placed actors when it comes to determining wages, and would like to see measures promoting collective bargaining included in the EU action.