Study of the European Union SMEs internationalisation strategy : final report

Expanding into international markets outside of Europe is a key opportunity for SMEs to achieve growth and enhance competitiveness as highlighted in the EU 'SME Strategy for a sustainable and digital Europe' in 2020. In this context, the objective of this study has been to map the most relevant EU and MS-level policy instruments that support SME Internationalisation beyond the EU and to provide recommendations on policies supporting SME internationalisation, in light of EU strategic landscape. This study follows up the European Court of Auditors' special report on 'SME internationalisation instruments' published in 2022 that called for: more awareness, coherence and sustainability of the support to SME internationalisation. These important outcomes have been further investigated, and a comprehensive mapping of both EU and Member State (MS)-level instruments was carried out. The data collection process relied on a combination of desk research conducted by a team of country experts based in the 27 EU Member States, a literature review, a comparison of results with previous studies, interviews, and a validation survey. A total of 38 structured interviews were conducted with EU-level policy officers responsible for the implementation of various instruments. At the MS level, interviews and a validation survey were conducted with 67 national organisations and agencies responsible for implementing SME internationalisation policies. Draft recommendations and preliminary findings were also discussed during an expert workshop.