The overall winner of the new European Enterprise Awards was announced in
Brussels yesterday (December 7). The main prize went to a Finnish project, the
Y4 Committee, which brings together 36 public organisations. The awards are
designed to recognise schemes by regional and local authorities to promote
entrepreneurship throughout Europe, particularly among small businesses.
By 2009, the internal postal market should be fully open to competition
under a new proposal put forward by the Commission on 18 October. In concrete
terms, this would mean abolishing the final reserved area, namely the monopoly
currently held by traditional public operators on processing mail weighing less
than 50 grams. More generally, the universal service would be upheld and
European consumers and businesses could expect greater choice and improved
quality in a more competitive market. Internal Market and Services Commissioner
Charlie McCreevy said: "In preparing the proposal, we have put consumer and
user needs first. With full market opening in 2009, we can look forward to more
innovation, better services and improved cost-efficiency."
The removal of the remaining obstacles in the Internal Market is crucial to
equip the EU for globalisation. This is one of the main conclusions the College
of Commissioners reached at a seminar held on 19 September in Profondval,
Belgium. They agreed that the Internal Market was the EU's most important
contribution to the Lisbon strategy and the strongest driver for growth and
jobs. "We need to overcome the false dichotomy of business-led versus
consumer-led policies and bring out the common denominator," said
Commission President José Manuel Barroso.
99% of all European businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises,
providing some 75 million jobs and accounting for more than 80% of employment
in some sectors. SMEs are thus vital for Europe.