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Tue15Oct

BusinessEurope’s SME Roadshow. Fourth stop Berlin. Prosperity and competitiveness: How to better EU framework conditions for SMEs?

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential to Europe’s prosperity and competitiveness, which were identified as the n°1 priority for the EU by European Commission President von der Leyen. Despite their significance to job creation and wealth generation, SMEs have encountered a range of challenges in recent years, including persisting labour shortages, rising energy prices, increased credit costs, and above all a wave of new regulations – all this whilst the demand for sustainability and innovation continues to grow. To enable SMEs to flourish in Europe, proactive measures are critical.

In response to these pressing issues, BusinessEurope is hosting the “SME Roadshow” in Berlin on 15 October 2024. This event marks the fourth stop in a series dedicated to addressing SME issues across the EU, this time organised together with the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) and supported by the Federation of German Industries (BDI).

Draft programme

Note: the timings below are based on CET.

13.30-14.00 Check-in & light lunch
14.00-14.10

Welcoming (video) message by

  • Roberta Metsola, MEP, President of European Parliament
14.10-14.20

Welcoming message by:

  • Steffen Kampeter, CEO, Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA)
14.20-14.40

Keynote address by:

  • Michael Kellner, Parliamentary State Secretary and Commissioner for SMEs, Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action
14.40-15.20

From backbone to driving force: How can the new EU agenda 2024-2029 pave the way for SMEs?

Panel discussion with:

  • Fabrice Le Saché, Chair of BusinessEurope's Entrepreneurship and SME Committee; President and founder, Aera Group
  • Gosia Binczyk, Deputy Head of Representation Berlin, European Commission
  • Matthias Machnig, Vice-President, SPD Wirtschaftsforum
  • Matthias Opfinger, Director Economic and sector policy, IGBCE
  • Holger Fricke, Member of the Management Board, The Economic Council of CDU (invited)
15.20-16.00

From insight to action: addressing SME needs for a competitive EU framework

Panel discussion with:

  • Outi Slotboom, Director, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, European Commission
  • Klaus-Heiner Röhl, Senior economist, German Economic Institute
  • Stefanie Molthagen-Schnöring, Vice-President for Research and Transfer, HTW Berlin – Berlin University of Applied Sciences for Engineering and Economics
  • Antje Gerstein, Managing Director Europe, The German Retail Federation (invited)
16.00

Concluding remarks

  Networking coffee
Last updated: 7 October 2024