Local and regional authorities' role in entrepreneurship overlooked, claims CoR
The Committee of the Regions (CoR) has welcomed the Commission's Green Paper on entrepreneurship, but says that it fails to take into account the contribution of local and regional authorities in developing entrepreneurship in the EU. Constance Hanniffy was the rapporteur for a CoR opinion on the Commission's draft policy document. Ms Hanniffy concluded that local and regional authorities 'have a key role to play in [...] cutting back red tape, introducing tax relief, developing the SME [small and medium sized enterprise] networks, encouraging the development of information technologies and playing an active part in social economy activities.' The CoR calls for the development of a support programme for local and regional authorities to encourage linkages and networking among enterprises, local universities and research institutes. It also proposes the introduction of exchange and placement schemes whereby potential entrepreneurs can gain experience of best practice, new markets and language and business skills. The Committee would also like to see clear distinctions drawn between small, medium and large companies so that different strategies can be adopted for each group. Difficulties faced by women, older members of society and ethnic minorities should also be taken into account, the opinion argues. The Commission is already tackling some of these issues, and on 26 June held a conference addressing ethnic minority entrepreneurs. In conclusion, the CoR opinion warns the Commission against an 'over reliance on the setting of targets' and says that they should not lose sight of the main objectives of the plan, namely: job creation, growth, competitiveness, social cohesion and personal development.