Europe’s economic growth and jobs depend on its ability to support the growth of enterprises. Entrepreneurship creates new companies, opens up new markets, and nurtures new skills. The most important sources of employment in the EU are Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Only 37% of Europeans would like to be self-employed, compared to 51% of people in the US and China. Some of the challenges to be tackled include:

– education should offer the right foundation for an entrepreneurial career;

– difficult access to finance and markets;

– difficulty in transferring businesses;

– the fear of ‘punitive’ sanctions in case of failure;

– burdensome administrative procedures.

The European Commission’s initiatives promoting entrepreneurship are summarised in an Entrepreneurship Action Plan adopted in January 2013. They aim to reignite Europe’s entrepreneurial spirit by:

– educating young people about entrepreneurship;

– highlighting opportunities for women and other groups;

– easing administrative requirements;

– making it easier to attract investors.

Source: European Commission