CEE – SMEs between Transition, War and Global Competition

When the transition process started in Central and Eastern European countries, one of the aims of politicians was to re-model the distorted monopolistic structure of national economies and to a broad private sector. During our discussion we will examine the progress in SME development made so far, by analysing the macro-economic trends of SMEs development and their respective role in national economies. We will look at the key barriers SMEs face with respect to the external environment and internal structures, we will sum up the experiences of SMEs development in Central and Eastern European countries in the form of suggestions for possible improvements and not lastly we will observe the impact of the war in Ukraine on CEE, the actual energy crisis and address the SMEs economic recovery after the COVID-19 crises.

Agenda

13:00 -13:20 Welcome

Ivan Stefanec, Member of the European Parliament, IMCO, ITRE, AIDA Committees
Andrzej Halicki, Member of the European Parliament, LIBE, AFET, JURI Committees

13:20 – 13:45 Address

Horst Heitz, SME Connect SME Europe Secretary General and Chair of the Steering Committee of SME Connect
Marcin Nowacki, EESC Member, President of the European Enterprise Alliance
Paul Rubig, SME Connect President, Member of the European Parliament 1996 – 2019
EESC Employers Group Representative (TBC)

*Please confirm your attendance to Ms. Agata Boutanos, Union of Entrepreneurs and Employers, a.boutanos@zpp.net.pl or Ms. Cleopatra Rusu, SME Connect, c.rusu@smeconnect.eu before September 8.