Enterprise Experience - european commission officials visit Smes

E
Here’s what a European Commission
official has to say:
n t e r p r i s e
x p e r i e n c e
European Commission officials visit
small and medium-sized businesses
My experience in UK
V
isiting a small dynamic
communications
company, working in the centre of
London, gave a strong sense
of creativity and freedom.
I helped in the research and
planning of a number of communication
campaigns
on
entrepreneurship,
corporate
social
responsibility
and
educational
reforms
such
as the Diploma, a new
Tina ZOURNATZI
qualification
for
14-19
year olds in the UK. I attended the Enterprising
Britain awards ceremony, held at the Chancellor of the
Exchequer’s residence in Downing Street, at which my
SME – Geronimo – was in charge of Public Relations.
I spent my last day at the headquarters of the
Make Your Mark campaign (the UK national entre preneurship campaign), speaking with the team
leaders of all the main parts of the campaign.
I gained valuable insight into how a government can
harness the creativity of an SME to communicate key
issues and found that the reduction of administrative
burden is undoubtedly one of the key areas where we can
make a difference even for medium sized businesses.
TO FIND OUT MORE
About the Enterprise Experience Programme
and how to apply please visit
our website:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/dg/enterprise-experience
or contact:
[email protected]
or:
EUROCHAMBRES: http://www.eurochambres.be/
UEAPME: http://www.ueapme.com/
BUSINESSEUROPE: http://www.businesseurope.eu/
How can the Directorate-General
for Enterprise and Industry help
my small business?
Tina Zournatzi
SME policy co-ordination and communication officer,
DG Enterprise & Industry
European Commission
European
Commission
Enterprise
Enterprise and
and Industry
Industry
European Commission
European
Commission
Enterprise
Enterprise and
and Industry
Industry
Enterprise Experience is…
…an innovative learning programme, developed by
the European Commission. It allows EU officials to gain
hands-on experience in micro, small and medium-sized
enterprises (SMEs) across the European Union. For one
week the officials participate in the companies’ day-today work, as well as meet local stakeholders and business
partners.
The Directorate General for Enterprise and Industry of
the European Commission operates the programme in
close collaboration with three European-level business
organizations:
EUROCHAMBRES, UEAPME and BUSINESSEUROPE.
What’s in it for SMEs?
For a company, hosting an EU official means:
•first-hand information about the EU’s enterprise policies
•a better insight into the functioning of the European institutions
•a better representation of SME interests in European policy making
CCLG board members
CCLG. Tecnologia Sistemi Impianti
Italy
Our decision to take part in the Enterprise Experience
Programme arose from a need to support every-day technical research and to improve and upgrade our products
and knowledge.
We remember quite well the week we spent together
with our guest-official, in particular the visit to the Riva
Shipyard in La Spezia. However, the best memory is, and
will always be, the friendly and human approach the
official had towards the CCLG members participating in
the programme.
Is my company eligible for participation?
Thanks to this initiative, we have learnt that there are a lot
of projects that might be supported by European funding.
However, it’s not so easy to keep ourselves updated with
different opportunities and sometimes, in order to receive
funding, it is necessary to cooperate with someone who
knows the procedures much better.
The programme is open to enterprises located in one of the
27 member states, that respond to the definition of SME.
Needless to say, we would gladly take another opportunity
to participate in this programme.
•employ fewer than 250 persons
•have an annual turnover not exceeding 50 million euro, and/or an annual balance sheet total not exceeding
43 million euro.
- CCLG -
For further details concerning eligibility and registration,
please check our website:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/dg/enterprise-experience
Nataly Ferrand, responsable de SIEGL
SIEGL : Société d’Impression sur Etoffes
du Grand Lemps
France
Dès que nous avons été sollicités dans le cadre de ce
programme d’immersion de fonctionnaires européens en
entreprise, nous avons compris le bénéfice mutuel que
nous pourrions tirer d’une telle expérience :
•pour l’entreprise : mieux comprendre ces Institutions qui nous semblent si éloignées de notre quotidien
• pour le fonctionnaire : donner du sens et du concret à nos
réalités industrielles et opérationnelles.
Au programme de cette semaine figuraient de nombreuses
rencontres avec différents interlocuteurs de l’entreprise et
industriels de notre région. Les échanges furent cordiaux
et animés, en particulier sur la définition de la nouvelle
législation européenne et son processus de mise en
œuvre, jugé parfois complexe et peu lisible (exemple du
règlement REACH sur les produits chimiques)… tandis que
nous découvrions au cours d’une présentation magistrale
l’existence de réseaux européens prêts à nous aider.
La réussite d’un tel échange repose sur la volonté
d’intégration, la transparence et la qualité d’écoute de
nos positions respectives ; cette expérience fut un véritable succès en ce sens qu’elle a démystifié les institutions
européennes. Nous envisageons d’accueillir à nouveau un
fonctionnaire européen.
- SIEGL -