The present report is part of the 2016/17 SME Performance Review. It focuses on the performance of SMEs in the EU-28, and two special chapters review recent developments in self-employment, an important segment of the EU-28 SME population, and discuss start-ups and scale-ups.

The Capital Markets Union project (CMU) aims to strengthen the single market by deepening the integration of investment across the European Union. Improved access to finance is a key component of this project, in particular for start-ups, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and young...

The 2014-2015 SME Annual Report found that in recent years young SMEs created jobs (on a net basis), and the EU needs more young firms to create jobs. There are now no major differences between the EU and the USA as regards new firm creation. Start-ups are key contributors to the innovation and...

This report provides an overview of the past and forecasted performance of SMEs from 2008 to 2016, and reviews in greater detail the contribution of SMEs to employment creation. SMEs accounted for 71.4% of the increase in employment in 2014 in the non-financial business sector, which includes...

Public procurement is of tremendous economic significance for European business. Estimates made by the European Commission put the total value of expenditure by general government and utilities on public works, goods and services for 2011 at 2.406 billion euros, some 19 percent of the EU's gross...

This methodology is intended as a toolbox encompassing good practices and providing practical guidance to Managing Authorities (MAs) in the preparation and the realisation of the ex-ante assessment of the financial instrument (FI) envisaged in the Programme(s), as required by Article 37 (2) of...