SPEECH/08/65
Günter Verheugen
Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Enterprise and Industry Enterprise Europe Network
Launch conference Brussels 7th February 2008
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is my great pleasure to open the conference to launch the new Enterprise Europe Network, the world’s largest and most extensive business and innovation support network.
For the first time ever, all the major players in the business support community in Europe have united to offer a one-stop-shop assistance for companies, providing the broadest range of tailored services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the EU and beyond, helping firms to develop their products and activities, and to expand into new markets.
There are more than 23 million SMEs in the EU, representing 99 percent of all European enterprises. Small businesses represent a key driving force in the European economy and are a major source of employment and innovation in goods and services. As such, they fulfil a vital role in the EU’s current growth and employment strategy to help Europe compete in an increasingly competitive global economy.
The new Enterprise Europe Network is a major initiative to help small and medium-sized enterprises develop to their full potential and make the most of their innovative capacity.
By offering high quality and cost-effective services, the Network aims to make small companies more competitive. Its particular strength lies in its ability to bring together, for the first time in a single network, an integrated service providing both business support and innovation assistance in an extensive regional network. The combination of more than 500 separate organisations across Europe and beyond, and a dedicated staff of more than 4,000 experienced advisors, makes Enterprise Europe the biggest network of its kind in the world.
In the past, small businesses looking for advice on more than one specific topic would often have to go to different organisations or locations, depending on the type of the query that they had. With the new Enterprise Europe Network, the Commission is offering a ‘no wrong door’ solution, grouping all of the most important business services under a single roof.
Less than one in ten European SMEs does business outside its own country, despite the abolition of national barriers and the opportunities that firms with comparative advantages can find in niche markets.
With its extensive expertise and contacts, the network offers practical assistance, whether a company is looking for a business partner in another country, seeking advice on how to develop an innovative product, or looking to apply to European funding programmes.
Not only will there be greater synergies between network partners, but the network will also be closer to its potential clients due to its extensive regional coverage. The network is not a centrally run operation: it has centres in 40 countries covering the EU, the Candidate Countries, the European Economic Area (EEA) and a growing number of third countries. This extensive geographical coverage makes its strength. The Network is open to all types of SMEs in these countries, irrespective of the sector they are in or the kind of activity they undertake. The availability of local contact points in each geographical region means that entrepreneurs in all parts of Europe will have business support right at their ‘doorstep’.
The new Network is not starting from scratch. Most of its members already have wide-ranging experience of advising small companies on business, innovation and technology transfer issues.
With backgrounds in industry, research and services, many of the organisations that make up the new network have been part of one or other of the Commission’s previous business and innovation support networks, the Euro Info Centres and Innovation Relay Centres. Together, the two former networks have a combined experience of over 30 years of service between them.
In terms of specific targets, the Network is for example expected each year to undertake 50,000 technology audits, organise 4,000 local events, and conclude more than 1,000 partnership agreements.
We have ensured that significant financial provisions for the Network are available over the long-term. In the first instance they have been set for the duration of the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (the "CIP") until 2013, with a total cost of over €700 million and a Community contribution of €320 million.
The Enterprise Europe Network is a two-way initiative. On the one hand, the network will assist SMEs across Europe to develop their innovative potential. On the other, it will serve as a channel to feed the views and experiences of entrepreneurs back into policy initiatives undertaken by the European Commission.
This practical input is extremely valuable for developing policy proposals that address the needs of small businesses. I would like to ask companies to make the fullest possible use of this facility so that we can shape our future together.
It is important to stress that the entire Commission is involved in the success of the network and I invite you to visit the 22 stands present at Tour & Taxis, where various Commission services offer guidance and advice on their SMEs related policies.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Promoting innovation to strengthen Europe’s economy is an important priority for the Commission in the context of the Growth and Jobs strategy.
Innovative processes not only enable companies to develop new goods and services and reduce costs by improving production techniques, they can also contribute towards broader technological development in areas such as communication technologies or energy sources, a current top priority on the EU agenda.
To unlock the SME capacity, the new Enterprise Europe Network attaches special attention to encouraging cooperation with the knowledge community.
Universities and research institutes, for example, are still not fully capitalising on their research results by translating these into innovative products and tangible business opportunities.
Venture capital funds, business angel networks, and IPR service providers are also important resources that need to be exploited. The Commission’s innovation policy support instruments will also be made available to the network.
Finally, many multinational companies are opening up their innovation systems so that the 'Open Innovation' concept is now becoming a reality for business. Many multinationals have established structures to purchase or license innovative products with third parties. Brokering deals with these large companies requires skills, experience and a negotiating power that many SMEs do not possess, despite the potential of their innovations.
As an impartial mediator of deals, the network could serve as a bridge between the communities of ‘innovative SMEs' and the R&D divisions of multinational companies.
The Enterprise Europe Network is a key example of the importance that the Commission attaches to creating the right business environment for small and medium-sized enterprises to take full advantage of their potential.
Together with our upcoming proposal for a ‘Small Business Act’, the Enterprise Europe Network will contribute to creating the right environment to foster growth, employment and innovation. I am particularly looking forward to the Network’s contribution to the public consultation on the SBA that we launched yesterday.
The success of the new Network depends on how quickly you will be able to develop a true cooperation, how constructively you can learn to live without Commission’s day-to-day assistance, but with the help of the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation in its place, how quickly you are able to develop the corporate identity of the new network, with new governance rules, new relationships, and new opportunities. In simple terms, the success of the Enterprise Europe Network is in your hands.
I would now urge all network partners to promote your services as widely as possible and call on European entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the extensive business and innovation support service that is now available ‘at your doorstep’.
Thank you for your attention.
