New contact points of the Enterprise Europe Network have been established in Japan and doubling its presence in China. With its expansion, it is intended to see more European small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) profit from the fast growing markets in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

The European Commission has published its decision to expand the contact points of the Enterprise Europe Network – the business and innovation support network for SMEs - to Asia and North Africa. The aim is to see more European small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) profit from the fast growing markets in Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe.

Moreover the European Commission Vice-President Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship underlined that to compete, SMEs must focus on innovation and internationalisation. He also added that the Enterprise Europe Network is a key tool for achieving these goals and these new centres in Japan, China and North Africa will create even more opportunities for companies. The Network, launched in February 2008 by the European Commission and key part of the EU’s Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme, which aims to encourage competitiveness in European businesses, spans 49 countries and is made up of close to 600 partner organisations employing 3,000 experts. The organisations include chambers of commerce, enterprise agencies, regional development organisations, research institutes, universities, technology centres and innovation centres.

On the other hand, during the Network’s fourth Annual Conference in Warsaw on 26th September, five winning SMEs received the special ‘Network Stars’ awards. These awards recognise companies and researchers who have used the Network to find opportunities abroad or to develop their businesses and research.