FAQs SMALL BUSINESS PORTAL

SME DEFINITION
- Is my company an SME?
Enterprises qualify as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) if they fulfil the
criteria laid down in the Recommendation 2003/361/EC regarding the SME definition came
into force on 1st January 2005.
The thresholds and other criteria, together with all legislative documents and a simple guide,
can be found here:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/sme-definition/index_en.htm

FUNDING AND FINANCING

- How can I get funding for my firm or business project?

The Small business portal offers a wide section dedicated to information on possible EU
funding opportunities for SMEs:
http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/funding-partners-public/finance/index_en.htm
Furthermore, to know if a particular programme is relevant to your particular case, we
strongly suggest that you contact your local Enterprise Europe Network partner, who can give
you one-to-one advice and support in applying for EU funding.
You can find the contact details of the Enterprise Europe Network member nearest to you
here: http://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/about/branches

- How can I get grants or loans for my firm or business project?

The Small business portal offers a wide section dedicated to information on capital, loans and
bank guarantees for SMEs:
http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/funding-partners-public/finance/index_en.htm#3
The European Commission does not make direct grants or loans to individual companies or
start-ups, but the "Access2finance" website (http://www.accesstofinance.eu/) can help you
find a local financial intermediary which manages EU loans/guarantees.
Furthermore, we strongly suggest that you contact your local Enterprise Europe Network
partner, who can best establish if you are eligible to apply for an EU grant. You can find the
contact details of the Enterprise Europe Network member nearest to you here:
http://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/about/branches

INTERNATIONAL ACTIVITIES
- I want to develop my business in another Member State and/or outside the EU. How
can I get in touch with potential foreign economic partners?
In the portal you have access to information about European programmes to help enterprises
"go international" here:
http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/most-of-market/international-business-outsideeurope/index_en.htm
Furthermore, we strongly suggest that you contact your local Enterprise Europe Network
partner, who can put you in touch with business partners in the EU and beyond as well as
giving you one-to-one advice and support in applying for EU funding.
You can find the contact details of the Enterprise Europe Network member nearest to you
here: http://www.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/about/branches

STATISTICS
- Where can I find statistics regarding SMEs in Europe?
For statistics on SMEs, we suggest that you look at the "facts and figures" page here:
http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/policy-statistics/facts/index_en.htm.
There are figures on SMEs in Europe and in the different Member States here:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/performancereview/index_en.htm
and, over a larger period of time, here:
http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/european_business/special_sbs_topics/smal
l_medium_sized_enterprises_SMEs

LINKS TO/FROM THE EUROPEAN SMALL BUSINESS PORTAL

- Would it be possible to advertise the link of my firm/agency/initiative on the Small
Business portal?
Our criteria for including links on the Small Business Portal are that they should be relevant
to SMEs, have a European dimension (i.e. concern not just one Member State), and where
they are external sites have a close link with the European Commission, such as being
funded by the EU etc. We do not link to commercial or fee-paying sites.
The European Commission's DG Enterprise and Industry also manages a portal which
specialises in country-specific information for SMEs interested in doing business in another
Member State: the Your Europe - Business portal
http://ec.europa.eu/youreurope/business/index_en.htm.

-Is it possible to use the information on the Small Business portal in other websites or
publications?
Data from the European Small Business portal may be used to feed other websites, as long as
the correct source is quoted.
The following rules apply:
Links to the European Small Business can be created from any website provided that the
following conditions are met:
- links should be illustrated with official logos and/or trademarks owned and/or licensed by

the European institutions and should comply with the instructions provided in the
Information Providers Guide (http://ec.europa.eu/ipg). If logos or trademarks cannot be
used, textual links are also allowed (for example: "Further information is available from the
European Small Business portal"), subject to the conditions below;
links should be made only to pages displaying the short hypertext notice referring to the
disclaimer and copyright notices;
when accessing the European Small Business portal pages via a link, it should be perfectly
clear to users that they are viewing information that is not exclusive or dependent on a fee
for access;
equally important and related to the above point is that links should not be put in a context
which could make users believe that the European institutions endorse, or support the
objectives or contents of the other website, or the organisation managing it;
if links are made from a frames-based website, the pages should not be displayed as frames
within that website in such a way that users might thereby misunderstand the true origin of
the pages;
as soon as a link has been established, the European Small Business portal webmaster (entrsmall-business@ec.europa.eu) should be notified by transmission of the URL of the page
where the link appears, enabling him/her to check if the above guidelines have been
respected by the other website.

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