The first European SME Week, which will take place all around Europe between May 6th to 14th 2009, is a campaign to promote entrepreneurship across Europe and to inform entrepreneurs about support available for them at European, national and local level. Under the slogan, “Small business, big ideas” more than 1000 events will take place in 35 countries. EU SME Week will allow SMEs to discover an array of information, advice, support and ideas to help them develop their activities.

The European SME Week is co-ordinated by the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, but most of the events and activities taking place during the SME Week are organised by business organisations, support providers, regional and local authorities, and others in the participating countries. SME Week is one of the measures implementing the Small Business Act, the first comprehensive SME policy framework for the EU and its Member States.

Objectives of the Fisrt SME Week

• To Inform: provide and disseminate information on what the EU and the national authorities are offering by way of support to small businesses
• To Support: create an EU-SME partnership, underlining how Europe is stronger with more competitive SMEs and also the fact that the EU is ready to offer them support and advice
• To Inspire: motivate existing SMEs to broaden their outlook and further develop and grow their business
• To Share: float ideas and share the experiences of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs
• To Encourage: convince young people that entrepreneurship is an attractive career option

Promoting EU SME's entrepreneurship: “Think Small First”

The European Commission has developed and implements a range of policy measures specifically to assist SMEs in Europe. These policies are aimed at creating the conditions in which small firms can be created and can thrive.

If the EU is to achieve its goals of speeding up economic growth and creating more and better jobs, it will be SMEs which play the biggest role. In particular, SMEs are the main source of new jobs in Europe. This strategy, supported by business and entrepreneurs networks such as the Enterprise Europe Network and information gateways such as the “Your Europe-Business” website, aims to open new opportunities for SMEs in providing better regulation and putting them to the forefront of society, as well as facilitate access to new markets, benefit from public contracts across Europe, access to finance, skills and innovation, and helping EU SMEs to take up the environmental challenge.

Adopted in June 2008, the "Small Business Act" for Europe (SBA) reflects the Commission’s political will to recognise the central role of SMEs in the EU economy and for the first time puts into place a comprehensive SME policy framework for the EU and its Member States. It aims to improve the overall approach to entrepreneurship, to irreversibly anchor the “Think Small first” principle in policy making from regulation to public service, and to promote SMEs’ growth by helping them tackle the remaining problems which hamper their development. The Small Business Act for Europe applies to all companies which are independent and have fewer than 250 employees: 99% of all European businesses.

SME week opened in Brussels on May 6th by the exhibition “SME experience – How it feels to be an entrepreneur”, will give visitors first hand experience of what it is like to be an entrepreneur. SME Week will be brought to a close on May 13th and 14th in Prague, by a conference "The small business act for Europe: business without barriers” which will incorporate a ceremony to announce the winners of the European Enterprise Awards, which will reward innovative practices to promote entrepreneurship and SMEs.