European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, the biggest European confederation of voluntarily associated Micro, Small and Medium-sized companies, together with ESBA, the European Small Business Alliance, AMSP, the Czech SME Association, and EVBB, the European Association of Institutes for Vocational Training, are deeply concerned about the health and economic situation in Europe in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only hundreds of thousands of people are infected and suffer, and tens of thousands are dying, but also hundreds of thousands, if not millions of Micro-, Small- and Medium-sized enterprises risk to die. It is inevitable to fight the pandemic by limiting the economic activities and the movement of the European citizens, but it is equally inevitable to urgently avoid the risk of losing everything as a great part of the more than 23 million MSMEs in Europe is running.

This is a task for the European Union too. National governments cannot always and not everywhere do enough to prevent this risk. We need European Solidarity now. We need this solidarity particularly for the Micro-Enterprises, Self-Employed, Solo- and Small Entrepreneurs. They are the most hit entrepreneurs in this crisis, because they don’t get higher loans or unemployment cheques, and they risk to lose everything: skilled and loyal colleagues, machines, offices, workshops, often carefully equipped
hotels, restaurants & shops.

The Self-Employed & SMEs have answered to a survey of European Entrepreneurs, and ask mainly for 7 things the EU should do now, in a logic of subsidiarity with Member States:

1. A coordinate EU-response for pandemic emergency health care

2. Immediate direct financial aid to Self-employed, Solo-Entrepreneurs, Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises incl. small associations and cooperatives

3. A European Reload SME Programme with min. 10 Billion Euro of Funds

4. Max. 1.5% interests on crisis loans

5. EU and all other public authorities should “Pay in 7” days

6. An EU-wide coordinated EXIT STRATEGY

7. No corporate taxes for SMEs until end of 2021

Read the details here