Annual SME Assembly discusses resilience of Europe’s small and medium enterprises and awards innovative companies and projects

Today, the Commission together with the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union are organising the annual SME assembly, which this year is fully online. This year’s assembly focuses on the support to the recovery of Europe’s SMEs and their resilience amidst the coronavirus pandemic. The event hosted by the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier and Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton, is attended by high-level speakers, including Nobel Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz and political economist Dr Maja Göpel. Delivering the keynote address of the conference, Commissioner Breton said: “EU SMEs do not only represent 99% of all companies in Europe, they are also deeply woven into all industrial ecosystems, and are key actors of every value chain. They bring innovative solutions and play a crucial role in the green and digital recovery after the coronavirus pandemic. SMEs have been hard-hit by the crisis, this is why we need to step up our fight against late payments as means to ensure and increase liquidity for businesses”. As part of the event, the Commission will also announce the winners of the 2020 European Enterprise Promotion Awards, European Small and Mid-Cap Awards, and also the official launch of the EU Observatory of payment performance in commercial transactions. The event can be followed online here upon registration. More information on the winners of awards will be available here.