Tschechen kämpfen für die Umsetzung der Dienstleistungsrichtline[en] 

Only around 8% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) engage in cross-border trade. The Services Directive, which was adopted in 2006 and is due to be fully implemented by the end of 2009, is seen as a key tool to removing barriers to operating in Europe's internal market. 

However, a survey last year showed that business federations in eight countries – including the Czech Republic – doubted their governments would implement the text on time. 

Implementing the Small Business Act is also expected to help SMEs to make use of the internal market, and will make doing business easier by cutting red tape by 25% by 2020. 

Speaking at the SME Week's closing ceremony in Prague, Vladimír Tošovský, Czech minister for industry and commerce, called SMEs "a pillar of European competitiveness," but said just 5% of EU GDP is currently generated by providing cross-border services. 

"Therefore, fast and accurate implementation of the Services Directive is critical," he said. 

Tošovský added that the European Investment Bank is playing a vital role in providing SMEs with financial resources. "Nevertheless, it is not government, but the management of the companies who must secure them a stable place in the market," he concluded. 

Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer told the conference that supporting SMEs is a key feature of Europe's recovery plan, adding that he supports swift implementation of the Small Business Act (SBA). According to Fischer, SMEs are the most dynamic companies and contribute significantly to boosting GDP. 

"Their further growth is crucial for the European recovery," he said. "However, SMEs are the most vulnerable entities in the market. Therefore, they deserve state support in the crisis," he said. 

The European Private Company Regulation, the Late Payments Directive and facilitating invoicing will be among the top priorities for the remainder of the Czech EU Presidency, according to senior Czech ministers. 

The new Czech government, led by Jan Fischer, will host a European Council summit on June 18 and 19 before handing over the six-month rotating presidency to Sweden. 

Speaking at the Prague conference, Günter Verheugen, vice-president of the European Commission, paid tribute to the outgoing Czech government which, he said, did "a very good job" for European entrepreneurs. 

"The most serious barriers for companies are not economic but political in nature," he stressed. 

According to Verheugen, the EU enlargement process was "a huge political success" which has not yet been fully appreciated and promoted. 

He expressed disappointment that the internal market is not used to greater effect by SMEs and others. 

"The European single market is our biggest success. However, when I look at the statistics I am quite disappointed, because its potential is enormous and still not fully realised," Verheugen explained. 

"Different legal systems in EU countries pose the biggest threat to the European single market," he added. 

The Commission vice-president thinks that the EU single market could expand to other areas, and especially to post-Soviet republics and the Mediterranean region. He also noted that many European countries are already part of the European single market, even though they do not belong to the EU. 

Verheugen concluded that Europe should "think small first" instead of taking the attitude that some companies are "too big to fail". 

According to Pierre Simon, president of industry federation Eurochambres, member states must now actively implement the Small Business Act (SBA). Without their enthusiastic support, the initiative will have no positive outcome, he said, calling for strict monitoring of the SBA's implementation, he added. 

His words were echoed by several other speakers during the conference, with industry groups keen to see the Act implemented by the end of the year.

Michael Gibbons, a member of the UK High Level Group of Independent Stakeholders on Administrative Burdens, said that European governments should be constrained by a "regulatory budget" - for every new regulation adopted, another one should be cancelled, he said.