The EPP Group yesterday welcomes Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis' initiative to launch an internet portal to help businesses trade outside EU.
"We want foreign trade to benefit small and medium-sized companies more. Many of them are now facing a very difficult situation because of the Coronavirus. And even before the pandemic, SMEs struggled more than large companies to access the benefits of international trade agreements. I am pleased that Valdis Dombrovksis’ first action as Trade Commissioner is to come to the aid of small European companies", said Christophe Hansen MEP.
“SMEs produce 58% of European Union GDP and account for 67% of all jobs in the private sector. They drive innovation and account for a vast majority of new jobs being created. Increasing supply chain resilience should start with SMEs. Helping them to take better advantage of international trade agreements to diversify their suppliers and sales markets is a step in the right direction. This portal is a concrete tool that will provide step-by-step guidance for this and comes as a response to a call by a group of MEPs, including my political group, almost a year ago for a tool to help SMEs identify opportunities more easily", Hansen added.
Katrin Goodman
Photo by Steven Lek, Wikimedia commons.