EU Policy on the Promotion of Entrepreneurial Spirit

Politica UE privind promovarea spiritului de ntreprinztor

Conf.Roxana tefnescu
Universitatea Spiru Haret
os.tefan cel Mare nr.26
Tel.0724426759
e-mail:happened11@yahoo.com

Abstract
The paper presents the main directions and activities of EU, crucial for Romania, towards the
improvement of the entrepreneurial spirit. These directions refer to 5 strategic domains, that are
presented in detail in the paper. These directions are: 1) Development of entrepreneurial culture 2)
Encouragement of more people to become entrepreneurs 3) Entrepreneurs orientation towards
growth and competitiveness 4) Improvement for financing 5)Establishment of more favorable
conditions for Small and Mid Enterprises
Key words
Entrepreneur, culture, protection, competitiveness, networks
EU action plan referring to the promotion of the entrepreneurial spirit favors a series of key
actions in five strategic domains.
I. Development of entrepreneurial cultures
The improvement of the image of entrepreneurs and the capitalization of the entrepreneur
career has become more and more obvious. EU propose itself to promote the entrepreneurial spirit
by showing a few success stories and underlining the responsible behavior of numerous
entrepreneurs who take into consideration, with seriousness, the present and future needs of the
enterprises. In order to allow all to use the opportunities depending on skills and ambitions, the
promotion actions consider the different types of entrepreneurs (as for example the entrepreneur
motivated by the economic expansion, the craftsman, the entrepreneur working in part time or the
cooperative entrepreneur ) focused on different target groups.
Organizing manifestations in favor of the entrepreneurial spirit and the promotion of
education as concerns the entrepreneurial spirit in a view to stimulating the entrepreneurial attitudes
and competence among young people is supported. In universities, forming the entrepreneurial
spirit should be spread towards the students and researchers of all fields, and especially of the
technical universities. Achievement of an adequateness between the scientific and entrepreneurial
potentials would allow o better trading of the results of research in the sectors based on knowledge.
Key action: Promoting everywhere the entrepreneurial spirit
Foreign experts have reviewed the different approaches concerning the education policy in
the entrepreneurial spirit within EU. The conclusion that the entrepreneurial spirit has advanced in
the education programmes and numerous political initiatives are under development, was reached.
54

The actions shall further be focused on the exchange of experience in the field of useful political
tools and on guaranteeing a quality education concerning the entrepreneurial spirit of all students.
Thus, an exercise of standardization of the performances as consequence of mini-enterprises
operation (set up by the students producing and selling real goods or services in a protected
environment) has been organized within EU. A group of experts has presented the factors of success
and risk, the political objectives, the recommendations and the promotion documents (successful
experiences, examples of good practice) based on the study cases and of the evaluations. In order to
assure the students access to the course of forming in entrepreneurial spirit, the Member States are
invited to record the education of entrepreneurial spirit in the curriculum of all teaching units and to
offer schools adequate help to allow them to put in operation performing and quality education
systems. The national and regional authorities must organize sensitizing campaigns, to offer support
for courses, to elaborate modules of training for teachers and, in cooperation with professional
organizations, to associate entrepreneurs in the training programme.
II. Encouragement of more people to become entrepreneurs
Under the conditions the risk is inherent to entrepreneurial spirit, two factors are able to
encourage more persons to become entrepreneurs and namely the fast and less expensive registration
of a company and assuring a balance between the risk undertaken and the possible reward.
EU and the Member States have lately achieved important actions to facilitate the
administration of starting the enterprises. In order to ease the cost of risk, it is needed to find
solutions for the treatment of negative effects of the failures of enterprises and to start the
examination of the options offered to entrepreneurs in order to take precaution measures towards the
personal risks by social protection conditions.
The future entrepreneur is able to reduce the failure if it takes over an existing enterprise
instead of setting up an enterprise. In Austria the researches made emphasized existing a 96% rate of
survival in case of transferring enterprises toward 75% in case of new enterprises. Therefore, it is
required to make sensitive the entrepreneurs in taking over existing enterprises.
Key action: To cast less brand on the failure
The entrepreneurs being in the situation of failure are discredited to the extent at which, for
example, they register less orders or additional financial guarantee are asked from them. A better
understanding of the failure, including to distinguish between honest and fraudulent bankruptcy is
needed in order to remedy marking of the failure. A standardization of the performances achieved
by external experts allowed to define the targets, the indicators and the recommendations able to
limit the severe legal and social consequences of the failure.
In order to promote a better understanding of the failure and to make a dissociation between
the notions of bankruptcy and embezzlement, the experts of the Member States have grouped
the information concerning the principles of bankruptcy, the early detection of financial difficulties,
the reasons of the failure, the obstacles in the path of restarting and the situation of entrepreneurs
being in state of difficulty that had a second chance. These pieces of information being needed to be
used in the promotion campaigns or during the training courses, it should be translated by a better
accepting of the failure and to contribute to the diminution of discrediting to which the entrepreneurs
existing in the state of bankruptcy are submitted.
In order to help the entrepreneurs facing financial problems to overcome their fears and to
disclose the problems and to seek help in due time, an important part have the exchanges of
experience in matter of sensitizing and resorting to prevention measures. There will be established
thus, in cooperation with a group of experts, tests of self evaluation allowing to the entrepreneurs to
evaluate their financial situation, including the information referring to the support and procedures
available to save the enterprise.
Key action: Facilitating the transfer of enterprises
55

Multiplying the transfers of enterprises waited during the following years should consider
especially the numerous family businesses representing an important part of the community of
enterprises in the EU.
The European Union should avoid the case of closing these enterprises caused not by the
lack of competitiveness, but by the obstacles given by the financial or legal environment or the lack
of successor only.
EU will continue to help the national and regional policy makers to facilitate the transfer of
enterprises, mainly in a view to assure the continuity of numerous enterprises viable in EU. It will
monitor to stimulate the Member States to put in application the recommendation concerning the
transfer of enterprises and will double it as efforts to make sensitive the entrepreneur candidates as
concerns the transfer of enterprises. This would include, for example, granting assistance to national
and regional policy makers in promoting scholarships for buying and selling enterprises.
Key action: Reviewing the social protection conditions of the entrepreneurs
For the small and mid size enterprises the social protection conditions of the independent
workers and of the owners of the enterprises and of those assimilated and concerning the effects of
the transitions from a statute to another are very important. This will include insurance in case of
sickness, guarantee concerning income in case of professional incapacity or ceasing of activity, the
rights concerning the pension (in relation with the workers employed), affiliation to the status of
volunteer insurance, the loss supported by the new entrepreneurs as concerns the rights obtained in
another career and the specific status reserved to the new entrepreneurs. This will allow to determine
more accurately the influence of the social protection upon the enterprise attraction.
III. Entrepreneurs orientation towards growth and competitiveness
EU will continue to promote access to all entrepreneurs including groups with specific needs
as women and entrepreneurs arising from the ethnic minorities, services of supporting at the highest
quality level and training in administration. EU will also promote the access to the support for the
entrepreneurs proposed within the structural funds.
Development of the entrepreneurship may be stimulated supporting actively small and mid
size enterprises in their effort of globalization. This allows not only the access to a larger market, but
allows also to operate several enterprises, which may contribute to getting a competitive advantage
in comparison with the active enterprises in a single country.
Small and mid size enterprises should benefit of a support to better capitalize the
opportunities offered by the knowledge economy. In addition toward the opportunities of
transferring the more performing knowledge between the researchers and the enterprises, the
availability of a qualified staff in a modern labor organizing and efficient protection of intellectual
property, a higher attention should be granted to value added innovations (as the new enterprises
models, marketing strategies or drawings) which importance does not cease to grow, especially for
the small enterprises.
EU has in view the networks, the partnership actions and the clusters of enterprises to help
the entrepreneurs to develop strategic partnerships, to access easily to knowledge and to tie business
bonds inside and outside EU. EU shall fasten the role of European support networks as well as Euro
Info Centre and Relay Innovation Centres associating them with the promotion of cooperation
between enterprises and rationalizing the group of support services within EU, not only by means of
these networks but also by the Business Innovation Centres.
The frame programmes for technological research-development foresee funds for small and
mid size enterprises reserving 15% of the budget and foreseeing action in their favor. Recently, EU
enlarged the field of application of the regulation referring to the exemption per category of small
and mid size enterprises, in order to exempt from knotting the financial help for researchdevelopment granted to the small and mid size enterprises. As concerns innovation, EU will review
the specific needs of the various players, especially of the small and mid size enterprises, in a view
56

to adjusting to the change and integrating the knowledge in production, goods and services. EU has
in view to continue the promotion of innovation by exchanges of experience concerning the regional
policies in the field of innovation, the mechanisms of technological transfer and the promotion of ecommerce.
At present, Europe suffers because of the lack of enterprises with fast-growing, called also
gazelles which are however the motive power of innovation and of the entrepreneurial dynamism
The development of entrepreneurship is rarely the effect of hazard: it must be an explicit motivation
for the growth, a certain state of mind. The practice has proved that entrepreneurs inspire themselves
especially from the success models.
As consequence, EU will inventory the good practices in order to spread them.
Key action: Offering a personalized support to women and ethnic minorities
The specific needs of women entrepreneurs and of ethnic minorities are not satisfied at
present by the support services. EU will assist the national and regional authorities, within the
works in process in the field of promoting entrepreneurial spirit among the women, especially to
investigate the fields where the needs of women entrepreneur are always neglected, especially the
access to financing and to the entrepreneurs networks.
EU will proceed to the identification and to the evaluation of the practical measures in order
to emphasize the good practices, based on the experience resulted of good practices, allowing to
assist the entrepreneurs from ethnic minorities. At the same time, EU will encourage the networks
between the political decision makers and will survey the active association representing ethnic
minorities in a view to improving the national and regional dialogue at EU level.
Key action: Supporting enterprises in the development of the relations between them
EU will support the meetings of approaching organized by EU regions allowing enterprises
to meet strategic partners (entrepreneurs, researchers, finance people, consultants, tutors,
commercial partners and political decision makers), who can help to stimulate their performance.
EU has a large network of potential partners by means of the sectorial organizations, of several data
bases of EU, of the Euro Info Centre, Relay Innovation Centres and Business Innovation Centre
networks.
As consequence of the approaching meeting, the small and mid size enterprises will be able
to address to the European support networks for the enterprises to obtain the most ample information
and consulting concerning the management of the businesses on the domestic market, in a certain
country or in a certain region.
The clusters of enterprises may help the small and mid enterprises to achieve the critical
mass, to gather the resources, to seek for trade partners or to have access to strategic information.
IV. Improvement for financing
The access to financing is essential for the enterprises whatsoever their development level is.
In addition to the existing difficulties signaled especially as concerns setting up own funds, the
enterprises must foreseen the development of the financial exigencies resulting in the enhanced use
of the rating systems and in the conditions of the funds of the banks, as consequence of which the
price of a loan may mirror approaching more to reality the inherent risk of the client.
At present, EU insists upon the improvement of the financial environment of the enterprises,
especially small and mid size enterprises, through its financial tools and the dialogue between the
small and mid size enterprise and the financial players in a view to exchanging good practice and the
best mutual understanding between the small and mid size enterprises and the financial community
(for example the discussions between the financial institutions and the professional organizations
concerning the establishment of a code of behavior for the banks related to the relations with the
small and mid size enterprises as client).
In order to help the enterprises to estimate the evolution of the financial environment, EU
will promote, in cooperation with the national and regional political decision makers, the offer of
57

supporting services to a better reply to the most exigent evaluations of risks. They will examine the
possibilities of extension of the guarantees and of the loans with a reasonable costs, especially in
favor of micro-enterprises.
Eliminating the credits engaged by the loans from the balance sheets of the banks by selling
to the institutional investors, may also increase their capacity of loan to small and mid size
enterprises.
In order to improve the structure of the capital of the enterprises and to guarantee a more
healthy balance sheets, it is proper to have in view the fiscal profitability of various financing
options. In a view to contributing to the enhancement of the own funds and to stimulate the increase
of the enterprises, EU harden the actions in a view to improving the availability of the risk capital,
financing toward the business angels and the individual investments (micro angels).
Key action: Increasing own funds and hardening the enterprises balance sheets
EU will use its financial tools in favor of small and mid size enterprises in order to facilitate
the entrepreneurial increase stimulating the provision of financing by loan and own funds. Besides
offering guarantees and promoting treating, they will also have to be focused on the own funds for
the small and mid size enterprises based on research and innovation.
V. Establishment of more favorable conditions for Small and Mid Enterprises
The actual reduction and simplifying the administrative and regulation tasks in the fields of
interest for the enterprises such as taxation system, jobs and environment are of special importance.
Considering that a certain degree of regulation and administration is needed to organize the markets
or to protect the public interest, the national and regional policy makers should also grant support for
small and mid enterprises in order to allow them to face these things.
EU have launched an ambitious programme targeting to improve the European governance
which has in view to improve the legislation, to evaluate the impact and to consult the parties
involved and at present it concentrates to put it in application.
The domestic market has a lot simplified the life of the enterprises, especially of those small
and mid size. However, the domestic market is not perfect. Certain obstacles have not been
eliminated. The strategy for the domestic market concerns all the problems which are of interest for
the small and mid size enterprises, as well as especially the elimination of the impediments staying
in front of services, the attenuation of the impact of the fiscal obstacles and the contribution to the
extension of the possibilities of participation on the public markets due to a better use of the public
markets networks of the Member States. EU will also continue to promote the participation of the
normalization for the small and mid size enterprises.
EU will continue the simplification of the conditions of the state support. Especially, it will
continue to bring into operation a tool allowing to identify any help less capable to produce
significant effects upon the competition. Such a tool could simplify the procedures of strict
examination of EU in the field of support and to enlarge the manipulation field of the Member
States, as concerns the supports less risen and showing a small risk of distortion. The small and mid
size enterprises should benefit of a proportional parts of these measures.
EU will encourage a more effective consulting of the small and mid size enterprises so they
be able to express themselves from the beginning of the decisional process, as concerns the new
initiatives as well as the adequacy between the regulations and the existing practices.
Key action: Listening to small and mid size enterprises
In order to confer more weight to the small and mid size enterprises when EU makes the
political decision, the improvement of the evaluation of the effects of EU proposals concerning the
small and mid size enterprises within the new System of evaluation of the impact upon the
enterprises is had in view. EU has also in view to improve the mechanisms allowing to consider the
experiences of the small and mid size enterprises as concerns the legislation, the policies and the
existing programmes. The enhanced promotion, the system monitoring of the problems occurred and
58

the extension of the fields which are the object of the replies with information will allow to consider
better the opinion of the small and mid size enterprises.
Besides organizing a more efficient dialogue with the small and mid size enterprises, this
works needs to verify if the problems raised by the small and mid size enterprises are truly taken
into consideration.
In cooperation with the experts of the States Member, a project of calibration of the
participation of the small and mid size enterprises to the process of political decision making at the
national level has started.
Key action: Reduction of the complexity of fiscal legislation observance
The observance of the multiple legislation and fiscal regulation of the different nations
becomes an obstacle for the cross boarder activities, especially those of the small and mid size
enterprises. If these enterprises could thank themselves with the application of the rules and
regulation familiar to their state of origin in order to calculate the taxable benefits or to pay their
obligations related to the Value Added Tax, the cross boarder operations would be facilitated.
In order to simplify and make more easier the procedures of putting in accordance with the
legislation in the field of direct taxation policy system, EU follows to launch a pilot project allowing
to the small and mid size enterprises to apply the taxation policy system according to the rules of the
state of origin. The Member States participants would convene, for this purpose, to recognize
mutually the different national methods of calculation of the taxable benefits. These involves a
difficult task for the domestic market operators.
EU proposes, based on the conclusions of an European study concerning the obligation in the
matter of VAT and after a public consulting, a unique pay-office allowing to the enterprises in the
Member States to pay their obligations in the matter of VAT at EU level in the country of their
setting up. Such a system would allow to reduce significantly the administrative expenses related to
VAT to the extent at which the enterprises will be able to treat with a sole fiscal administration, in
their language, and to be submitted to a sole group of obligations.
The action plan defines the generic objectives to achieve by EU and the political decision
makers in the Member States in five strategic fields.
1.Sensitivity of a large group of persons with entrepreneurial spirit and allowing to obtain
entrepreneurial competence due to the education and promotion actions.
2. Fair environment for undertaking the risk and the absence of unfair obstacles for the new
enterprises which set up or take over an enterprise. .
3.Assuring a support of a higher quality level, especially in the field of cross boarder
commerce and of innovation, in favor of all entrepreneurs and any sector of activity.
4.Financing and enough guarantee to finance the group of viable projects for enterprise and a
higher neutrality of the fiscal treatment of the various financing options.
5. Substantial simplifying of the procedure of regulation and administrative and a better
consideration given to the needs of the small and mid size enterprises when adopting the political
decision.
The results of the actions engaged by the plan of action shall have to be expressed by the
impact had on the entrepreneurial performance within EU:
- Entrepreneurial culture hardened: several persons expressing a preference for the
entrepreurial spirit; several starts of enterprises, including those resulted from groups or disfavored
regions; several new entrepreneurs taking over the existing enterprises and several starts up after a
failure.
- A better performance of the enterprises translated by an enhanced competitiveness and
increase; healthier balance sheets, enhanced innovation of the private sector, more
business for small and mid size enterprises on the domestic market, more jobs and fast
growing enterprises.
59

A better environment for enterprises: less time and less money needed to comply with
the administrative exigency and with the exigency of the regulations.
The following key actions are further proposed:
- Organizing campaigns in favor of the entrepreneurial spirit
In order to give birth to a more positive attitude towards the entrepreneurial spirit in the
society as a whole, EU shall support organizing sensitizing campaigns. These could show in the
media entrepreneur models, success stories, description of the failures. Such campaigns will
emphasize the positive contribution of the entrepreneurial spirit for the society needs (the social
responsibility of the enterprises). They will be organized at an optimum regional and national level.
-Promotion of setting up fast growing enterprises (gazelles)
In order to stimulate more gazelles, EU has the intention to draw the attention upon the
possibilities of multiplying this formula in Europe. It will encourage the research reuniting the
commerce schools in a view to analyzing the successes of the existing gazelles and of the obstacles
when entering the market of the potential gazelles. These works should have as effect not only
accentuating more on the gazelles within the analysis and research, but also to integrate the
conclusions in the curriculum of the commerce schools to encourage their use in the business
practice. In accordance with the open methods of coordination, EU will proceed to the exchange of
experience concerning the policies of the Member States targeting to help to develop pre-gazelles.
One speak about practices established to help the entrepreneurs to identify and fructify the
opportunities of fast expansion, including the tutorial systems, entrepreneurial apprenticeship
networks and systems of supporting the pre-gazelles as the specific incubators or accelerators
enterprises for precocious and fast globalization.
-Promotion of the entrepreneurial spirit within the social sectors
EU will evaluate the conditions of operation of the enterprises without lucrative purpose and
commercial vocation, providing social service (as health care, education and social assistance), and
of the environment, based on an analysis of their specific needs and constraints, and will give
recommendations and guidelance in a view to improve the conditions of operation of the enterprises
in these sectors (in terms of promotion and legislation) within their obligations of public service and
exigency of quality proper to the provided services. The future actions might include promotion all
over Europe of the best conditions of operation for the enterprises providing such social and
environment services, political conclusions, even legal tools (for example a recommendation or a
volunteer regulation), depending on the conclusion of the study.
- Allowing the micro-enterprises to employ reducing the complexity of the regulations
The aptitude of the micro-enterprises to engage and administrate their staff is affected by the
degree of complexity of the labor regulations. For the micro-enterprises having little or no
experience in the field, this might represent large constraints in terms of time and money. Foreign
experts will compare more the national practices and will identify the means of facilitating
employing by the micro-enterprises all over Europe towards the conditions of hiring of the first
employee.
-Facilitating the access of the small and mid size enterprises on the public markets
In order to improve the access of the small and mid size enterprises, the foreign experts will
make the inventory of the good practices applied in the Member States, the adjudicating institutions
targeting to eliminate the obstacles when entering the market and the transparency. At EU level the
recent Directives relative to the public markets not only reduce the number of directives applicable
for the public markets, but assure also simplify and modernize the procedures of adjudication itself.

60

Bibliography
1.European Commission, Working together for economic increase and jobs. A new impetus
for the strategy of Lisbon COM (2005)
2.Nicolescu O., Managementul IMM, Editura economic, Bucureti, 2001
3.Ni C., Characterization of the business environment during 2005-2006 no.38,no.39,
no.41, www.Cadran Politic.ro
4.Lzrescu Sorin, Financial rating, www.ASE.ro/biblioteca/carte
5.http://europa.eu.int/comm/internal_market/services/brs/forum_en.htm

61