Euro Info Centre network helps SMEs to prepare for enlargement
The Euro Info Centre (EIC) network has organised an initiative to help small businesses prepare for the forthcoming enlargement of the European Union. The recently established 'business opportunities with enlargement' scheme consists of more than 400 activities, specifically aimed at small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The activities will be carried out in EIC centres across the 26 countries currently participating in the EIC network. Speaking at the Chamber of Commerce in Vienna on 16 June, Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society, Erkki Liikanen underlined the importance of helping SMEs to prepare for enlargement: '[The] wider internal market offers many chances to [...] companies. The better they are informed and the earlier they get ready, the more they will be able to seize opportunities.' The proposed activities consist of a number of seminars and events, focusing on the business opportunities presented by enlargement. Business clubs will also be organised, ensuring that businesses with common interests can regularly come together and exchange experience and ideas. Furthermore, a specific enlargement service will be set up to provide SMEs with permanent assistance. The activities are scheduled to run until May 2004.