EU and Serbia: SME Policy in Time of Crisis and Beyond

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are recognized as the backbone of every economy and the key source of economic growth, dynamism and flexibility in advanced industrialized, as well as in transitional and developing countries. Policymakers are conclusive in attempt to promote the more dynamic development of SME sector by creating policies and consistently implementing the basic principles contained in the European Charter for Small Enterprises. The further course of the Serbian integration into the European Union will be primarily determinate by the development of the SME sector. The SME sector in the Serbian economy accounts for the largest part of total number of active companies, GDP, total export and import and for the majority of employment. Due to the fact that the world financial crisis has worsen the already vulnerable SME sector in Serbia, the government, by setting the adequate policy framework in which SMEs can operate, has provided economic benefits through the selection of business support instruments, the problems they address and the way they are delivered. Even though the importance of the role SMEs play is even more emphasized in times of crisis, these enterprises are facing significant problems when providing necessary financial resources and maintaining liquidity.