News From Our Representatives From Brussels

UEAPME position paper on REACH regulation review – UEAPME
published a position paper on the REACH (Registration, Evaluation and
Authorisation of Chemicals) regulation review. So far, it is confirmed that
SMEs are the losers of the REACH implementation as they encounter a burden five
times superior than that of others.

UEAPME responds to the Green Entrepreneurship Action Plan

UEAPME
commented on the Green Entrepreneurship Action Plan drafted by DG Enterprise.
The aim of the Commission's communication will be to provide a framework to
help SMEs become greener and more sustainable; a request for input was
therefore sent to UEAPME to respond on specific issues dealt within this action
plan. The paper, representing our reply to these questions, is the is the
result of work by an informal group set up by our Sustainable Development
Committee's last meeting. UEAPME put forward proposals on topics such as the
role of the European Enterprise Network, how to better structure support for
SMEs at local level, SMEs in the greening of the value chain, how SMEs can get
credit to make their production process greener or access to the international
market for green products and services.

UEAPME debates on green jobs and SMEs

Sustainable
Development Director Guido Lena, along with MEP Karin Kadenbach and a DG
Employment representative, attended a panel discussion on "Green Jobs –
employment potential and working conditions" organised by the Austrian Federal
Chamber of Labour in Brussels. The aim was to analyse and discuss which
professions can be described as a green job and which working conditions and
salaries are to be expected. Less time should be spent on a clear-cut
definition of green jobs as focus should be on making a socially responsible
transition to a green society and facing the climate change, he said. SMEs
create the most green jobs, he noted, a favourable framework for manufacturing,
technical assistance and accessibility to upfront financing need to be set up
in order to enhance their role. Member states have to ensure no mismatching
exists between the need for companies to become greener and what the market
offers, and invest in SMEs to achieve a greener society, he concluded.

UEAPME- The European Association of Craft,
Small and Medium-sized Enterprises