ESC recommends pan European e-commerce information network for SMEs
Commenting on the European Commission's communication 'Helping SMEs go digital,' the European Economic and Social Committee (ESC) has recommended the creation of a pan-European information network for SMEs (small and medium sized enterprises) adopting e-commerce solutions. The communication aims to give impetus to the eEurope Action Plan and speed up the implementation of programmes to assist SMEs in starting to trade through the Internet. It includes proposals on the benchmarking of national and regional strategies in support of e-business, improved access to information and the collation of feedback for policymaking purposes, promoting awareness, provision of a loan guarantee facility for SMEs and the creation of an ICT (information and communications technology) monitoring group. Also included in the ESC's opinion is the call for more information for SMEs on the benefits of 'going digital', more European funding, more training for SME employees and owners and an improved legal and regulatory framework to serve e-commerce SMEs at national, European and international levels. It also calls for up-to-date comparative data for assessment of actions as well as for measurement of the development of know-how and the SMEs' absorption of know-how. The ESC proposes that a structured pan-European information network be set up, including the Euro Info Centres, Innovation Relay Centres, representative organisations and chambers of commerce. The network would provide legislative and regulatory information and would gather and distribute relevant material whilst creating a specialised e-commerce support service for SMEs. The network would address the lack of information for SMEs, which the ESC believes to be a serious problem. 'The aims and principles of information provision for SMEs must change, since it has not yet produced the expected effect. Given that these companies depend on the personal efforts of their owners and a very small number of staff, the owner must be convinced of the real, tangible and practical benefits in very concrete ways,' states the ESC opinion. The ESC proposes higher funding and incentives for investment in the field of new technologies and e-commerce, and recommends that special incentives be provided for the banking sector to promote the development of electronic commerce in SMEs through the direct and immediate funding of e-commerce instruments. The opinion argues that a lack of European funding discourages the adoption of e-commerce solutions, and that where funding exists, there is a need for proper planning and a more rational use of resources. The ESC is concerned about the gap between the number of SMEs using e-commerce in Europe compared with the USA and some South East Asian countries. The committee believes that the Commission's 'go digital' actions 'are orientated in the right direction', but claims that the deadlines are too time consuming and do not 'sufficiently reflect the urgent and pressing nature of the problems facing SMEs in connection with digital technology.' The opinion paper supports the ideas behind the Commission's communication while asking for more, but also recognises that the SMEs themselves bear some responsibility for closing the digital gap between themselves and their US and South East Asian counterparts. 'The ESC feels that the highly conservative spirit and lack of the relevant culture which characterise a very large number of SMEs are a very serious factor delaying and limiting efforts and actions for which there is a pressing need,' states the ESC opinion. The paper claims that SMEs tend to react very slowly the challenges of the new age or do not react at all, 'despite the fact that an entrepreneur ought always to be highly alert and flexible. Changing the organisational structures of an SME is a necessary precondition for its modernisation and its development as part of the new economy,' the ESC concludes.