Western Balkans endorse charter for small enterprises
The countries of the Western Balkans endorsed the ten principles of the Charter for Small Enterprises during the Thessaloniki Council on 21 June. 'I am very happy to see the commitment of the Western Balkan countries to improve the environment for small businesses. In these countries, even more so than in the EU, small businesses are the backbone of the economy and we must therefore do more to take account of their situation when legislating and setting policies in the future,' said EU Commissioner for Enterprise and the Information Society Erkki Liikanen, welcoming the announcement. Some 34 countries, including Member states, candidate countries, as well as Norway and Kosovo, have now committed themselves to the principles of the charter: This will 'give small businesses the policy attention they require,' said Mr Liikanen. While the EU's stabilisation and association process has already helped to put in place reform measures such as trade liberalisation, privatisation, and a framework to encourage private investment, a viable framework to help entrepreneurs has been lacking: The charter is expected to fill the gaps left by the receding State sector and provide the framework needed to sustain the spirit of entrepreneurship at local level. The Commission will discuss in more detail the implementation of the charter with enterprise policy stakeholders from Western Balkan countries during a series of bilateral meetings in July and September. Also, a separate analytical report will be drafted for the Western Balkans, outlining targets and benchmarks specific to the region. The endorsement signals another important step in the deepening relationship between the EU and the Western Balkan countries, following on as it does from the recommendations made by the European Commission in its second report on the 'stabilisation process and association for South Eastern Europe', as well as the recent communication 'the Western Balkans and European Integration'.
Kraje
North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Croatia