Single Market Programme - Performance

Programme in a nutshell

Concrete examples of achievements^(*)

^{(*) Key achievements in the table state which period they relate to. Many come from the implementation of the predecessor programmes under the 2014-2020 multiannual financial framework. This is expected and is due to the multiannual life cycle of EU programmes and the projects they finance, where results often follow only after completion of the programmes. Data verifications are still ongoing in some Member States, in line with the procedure to assess the Annual Implementation Reports and the reporting cycle. Thus, the figures are not yet fully consolidated.}

Budget for 2021-2027

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Rationale and design of the programme

The single market is at the heart of the European project. Since its inception, it has proved a major contributor to growth, competitiveness and employment. It is one of Europe’s major achievements and its best asset in an increasingly global world. It is also an engine for building a stronger, more balanced and fairer EU economy. Thanks to the single market, people, goods, services and money can move around the EU almost as freely as within a single country. EU citizens can study, live, shop, work and retire in any EU Member State, and enjoy products from all over Europe. A properly functioning single market is not a given, however. It has yet to materialise in a number of areas, and in others the benefits could be more substantial.

The single market programme (SMP) improves the functioning of the internal market and helps protect and empower citizens, consumers and businesses, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The programme supports the design, implementation and enforcement of EU legislation underpinning the proper functioning of the single market for goods and services. It assists the digitalisation of services and business operations and facilitates market access and international cooperation, especially in the areas of company law, contract and extra-contractual law, anti-money laundering, free movement of capital, financial services and competition, consumer protection and product safety. It also contributes to a high level of health and safety for humans, animals and plants, and supports the improvement of animal welfare, the fight against antimicrobial resistance and the development of sustainable food production and consumption. Overarching and contributing to all areas, the programme supports the development, production and dissemination of European statistics on all EU policies.

Budget

Budget programming (million EUR):

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  Financial programming:
  + EUR 146.6 million (+ 3%)
  compared to the legal basis*

^{(*) Top-ups pursuant to Article 5 of the multiannual financial framework regulation are excluded from financial programming in this comparison.}

The 2023 EU budget for the SME pillar was increased by EUR 10 million following a decision of the budgetary authority. 

Negotiations with several non-EU countries⁽²⁾ have been completed or are in the final stages and their contributions are included in the budget once the agreements are ratified. Most countries do not participate in all strands of the SMP; this is discussed during the negotiation process. 

^{(2) Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye (enlargement countries); Armenia, Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine (Eastern Partnership countries).}

Budget performance – implementation

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2023 (million EUR):

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Voted budget implementation (million EUR)^(*):

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Contribution to horizontal priorities

Green budgeting

Contribution to green budgeting priorities (million EUR):

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Overall, activities financed by the SMP contribute mainly indirectly to the mainstreaming priorities with the programme’s objective to support resilience of the single market for recovery and ensure restoration after COVID-19 and fulfil the green and digital transition of Europe’s industrial ecosystems. The ongoing midterm evaluation of the SMP also aims to assess the programme’s progress towards the achievements of its objectives and to assess how it contributes to the Commission’s horizontal priorities. The transition towards a greener and more digital internal market is sought through the funding of activities, new technologies and creation of opportunities and business-cases allowing the fostering of sustainable competitiveness while ensuring the protection of consumers and citizens in the EU. The objectives of the SMP are inherently linked to the success of the twin transitions for their achievement. Reciprocally, progress towards these objectives, thus creating a thriving environment for businesses and citizens (consumers), provide the necessary means and incentives needed for the transitions. 

 Within the SME pillar, the Enterprise Europe Network uses the full range of its innovation and business advisory services to support SMEs with the transition towards more sustainable business models and more climate-friendly products and processes. For example, EEN’s innovation management advisory services, which help companies manage change processes, can support the transition towards more sustainable business models, whereas its innovation and technology transfer services support the introduction of cleaner, less waste-producing and more energy-efficient production lines in SMEs. A dedicated group of sustainability experts within the network acts as a focal point and community of practice within EEN. The Enterprise Europe Network energy-efficiency action is now fully operational (see the point on SDG 7). Supporting the green transition is also one of the key objectives of the Euroclusters projects. Approximately 40% of the budget of this action supports climate goals. This is achieved mainly by providing direct financial support to SMEs (via cascading calls) to assist their adoption of new technologies leading to higher sustainability. Examples of Euroclusters projects with a specific focus on climate goals are the INGENIOUS project for energy intensive industries, and the B-Resilient project to build up the biomass resilience of food-producing and processing SMEs through green and digitised value chains. All projects under the local green deals strand of the social economy and local green deals action (work programme 2021) led to the conclusion of local green deals that serve as a basis for work to implement more climate-friendly practices within their local communities. 

The sustainable procurement hubs action (work programme 2024) with EU funding of EUR 4 500 000 will support living labs with strong links between innovators and public administration in areas like mobility, the green and digital transitions, health and education. These will allow public authorities and SMEs to interact to define challenges and possible innovative solutions, with a view to creating new opportunities for SMEs to participate in innovation procurement contracts for boosting sustainability.  

There are many other projects and actions that contribute to climate goals, while also focusing on other objectives (for example the 2021 projects on sustainable growth in tourism). It is therefore difficult to estimate the total expenditure on climate across the SME pillar. 

A number of SME pillar initiatives contribute to biodiversity goals. Protection of plant variety rights is one objective of the SME Fund intellectual property voucher scheme that reimburses certain types of expenses incurred by SMEs for protecting their intellectual property rights. In 2023, the fund awarded a total of EUR 1 575 to 167 SMEs (funded by a contribution of EUR 100 000 from the SME Pillar budget, and additional funds from the European Union Intellectual Property Office. 

EUIPO ⁽⁶⁾ to support them with the start of the registration process of certain new plant varieties in the EU and encourage them to invest in innovations in plant breeding. The average amount awarded per SME was EUR 225. A number of changes were also made to encourage a higher number of SME applications in 2024 for plant variety rights protection ⁽⁷⁾. The European agrifood sustainability cluster partnerships action (two projects with a total maximum EU grant of EUR 1.6 million under the 2023 work programme) will support the establishment and development of cluster partnerships to mobilise and support SMEs from this sector to engage in resource efficiency and sustainability improvements, including improvements relating to biodiversity. 

Grants to the European financial reporting advisory group support the development of European sustainability reporting standards as provided for by the corporate sustainability reporting directive, adopted on 14 December 2022. The directive is a key instrument to support the EU sustainable finance agenda and important to meet the objectives of the European Green Deal. The European financial reporting advisory group submitted the first set of 12 final draft European sustainability reporting standards on 22 November 2022 covering 10 topical sustainability matters including climate change, pollution, own work force and affected communities. The Commission adopted the standards on 31 July 2023 and they apply as of 1 January 2024. The European financial reporting advisory group has continued developing further draft standards and implementation guidance during 2023. 

The action grants to the European standardisation organisations reflect the priorities of the annual EU work programme for European standardisation, of which the green transition is one of the main dimensions. The first three action grants under the SMP concern ambient air, plastic fishing gear and organic fertilisers. 

Within the consumer pillar, one of the key priorities in the New Consumer Agenda for 2020-2025 is to support the green transition by promoting more sustainable production and consumption of goods and services. In this context, several procurement initiatives were concluded in 2021-2023 to support measures that empower and assist consumers to make sustainable and informed choices, by raising consumers’ awareness of the environmental performance of products, such as their durability, reparability and eco-design features. The initiatives also aimed at protecting consumers from harmful practices, such as greenwashing, early obsolescence of goods and better information at the point of sale. To promote sustainable production, the consumer pillar launched the sustainable consumption pledge, which calls upon businesses in various sectors of the economy to undertake specific, public and verifiable commitments to reduce their overall environmental footprint, to produce and market more sustainable products and to change their business practices towards a more circular model.  

^{(6) The total EU budget for the SME Fund in 2023 was EUR 2 100 000, of which EUR 100 000 was specifically allocated to plant variety rights. In accordance with the SME Pillar work programme, the additional funding for this scheme comes from the European Union Intellectual Property Office’s legacy surplus outside its operational budget.}

^{(7) An increase in the maximum reimbursable amount to EUR 1 500 and the extension of types of eligible fees which now also include examination fees.} 

Gender

Contribution to gender equality (million EUR) (*):

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Measures supported under this programme respect gender equality principles and take the gender dimension into account. 

Under the SME pillar, 59% of the operational coordinators of Enterprise Europe Network consortia are female and 41% are male. The network also has a dedicated group that supports women entrepreneurs and provides partnership and advisory services specifically tailored to their needs. In 2023 ⁽⁸⁾, 58% of the total financial support provided for Erasmus for young entrepreneurs exchanges went to female new entrepreneurs (297 female new entrepreneurs benefited from the programme and received a total of EUR 951 733 to support the costs of their stay). The SME pillar has also created opportunities for businesses in sectors such as the social economy, which are known to attract a high percentage of women entrepreneurs. A total of 19 projects to support local green deals and boost resilience in the social economy sector started in May 2022 (with a total budget of EUR 4 million). Ten of the 19 coordinators are women, and 63 women (50%) are registered as contact persons out of the 125 partners in these projects. The evaluation procedures for the 2023 social economy call ⁽⁹⁾ are in their final stages. The action for helping Ukrainian companies to integrate into the single market (work programme 2023, total EU funding EUR 4 500 000) gives specific priority to women entrepreneurs and social economy companies ⁽¹⁰⁾. This project is in its early stages and will run until October 2025. The 2023 work programme also includes a dedicated action with a budget of EUR 400 000 to collect data on women’s entrepreneurship and organise a media campaign on promoting female role models for girls and women⁽¹¹⁾. 

Eurostat pays special attention to the gender perspective in its programme by systematically collecting, providing and disseminating sex-disaggregated data in a wide range of domains, including health, employment, income and living conditions, education and training, participation in society, discrimination and gender-based violence. A stocktaking of the availability of equality data in different statistical domains at Eurostat was carried out, and detailed discussions with users were carried out to discover their data needs. To support the improvement of equality and non-discrimination statistics in the EU, Eurostat has set up an ‘equality and non-discrimination statistics task force’ as a sub-group to the European directors of social statistics expert group to which it will report. This sub-group is expected to complete its tasks by the end of 2026. 

The agreed initiatives aim at improving data availability and quality by: 

• developing guidelines and recommendations for improved comparability of the statistical terminology and taxonomies in the EU context;  
• supporting the coordination between the Commission, Member States and other stakeholders; 
• making proposals for  better coverage of equality and non-discrimination statistics at the EU level based on the six grounds of discrimination (sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age and sexual orientation). 

In 2023, Eurostat disseminated gender pay gap data for 2021, along with many detailed sex-disaggregated socioeconomic indicators and discrimination statistics. The EU gender-based violence survey data collection in 18 Member States coordinated by Eurostat is finalised and the indicators providing information on the prevalence and dynamics of violence were disseminated by the end of November 2023. 

Under the consumer pillar, a panel discussion, entitled ‘Safe for all? Gender and product safety’ was organised during International Product Safety Week in 2022. Although product safety has long been considered a gender-neutral field, in recent years increasing attention has been paid to how gender differences affect health and safety. For example, product-safety panellists pointed out that products are not always modelled on women during their design process. Consequently, this may result in the creation of unsafe products for them. There are also gender differences in consumption patterns, and thus in the type of risks women face. In addition, women drive most household purchases, which means that they can play a key role in consumer safety. The session concluded with good practices on how to involve the gender dimension in policymaking, product design and education campaigns. 

^{(8) This data covers exchanges which started and finished in 2023, but not exchanges which started in 2023 and will finish in 2024.}

^{(9) This focuses on digital transition of social economy SMEs and entrepreneurs (total EU budget EUR 8 000 000).}

^{(10) This project aims to provide 1 500 Ukrainian SMEs with direct support of up to EUR 2 500 to enter the single market, participate in trade fairs and develop their business and/or online services. The first call for third-party financing is currently in progress.}

^{(11) Call for tenders published on 22 December 2023 – deadline 28 February 2024.}

Digital

Contribution to digital transition (million EUR):

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The general objective of the SMP as a funding programme is to enhance the single market, so that it can reach its full potential, and does not have the specific scope of digital contribution. However, the programme does include financing of activities that contribute to the goals of the digital and green transition in some parts.  

The 2023 SME pillar work programme includes an initiative with a budget of EUR 8 000 000 that is entirely dedicated to boosting the digital transition of social economy enterprises. Many of the Euroclusters projects provide support to businesses for the digital transition (together with sustainability and resilience building). There is no clear breakdown of the percentage of the Euroclusters budget allocated to digitalisation. One relevant project example is the AIBC Euroclusters project, which focuses on artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies. The ongoing work seeks to boost the capacities/skills of clusters to allow them to provide stronger support to European SMEs that develop artificial intelligence and blockchain solutions and to support the uptake of related applications by different industrial ecosystems. There are also a number of Euroclusters projects with multiple goals that have published calls for third-party finance specifically dedicated to the digital transition ⁽¹²⁾.  

The Enterprise Europe Network’s service package includes advice to help SMEs prepare for and implement the digital transition by adapting their processes, using digital technologies and developing new products and services using new digital means. These services are provided in collaboration with other relevant European networks such as the European digital innovation hubs. As the Enterprise Europe Network grant agreement does not break down personnel costs by topic, it is not possible to specify the percentage of the network’s budget that supports this goal.  

The 2022 tourism call covers both digital and sustainability transitions for tourism , offering training, networking and capacity-building support. Support for digitalisation and sustainability is also provided to the construction and renovation sector to facilitate SMEs’ participation in lighthouse renovation projects for affordable housing and a project for digitalisation of the built environment, public procurement and construction SMEs is ongoing until June 2024 (budget EUR 750 000 under the 2021 work programme). One of the new second-level indicators for the SME pillar approved in mid-2023 measures the number of SMEs supported which undertook business process innovation tied to technological adoption leading to higher digitalisation. Reporting data on the new indicators will be available in future reporting periods. 

The action grants to the European standardisation organisations reflect the priorities of the annual EU work programme for European standardisation, in which the digital transition is one of the main dimensions. Several action grants concern e-invoicing, the internet of things and interoperability activities. 

Under the consumer pillar, one of the top priorities in the New Consumer Agenda for 2020-2025 is to ensure that consumers derive full benefit from the digital transformation which is radically changing consumers’ lives, offering new opportunities while addressing digitalisation challenges for vulnerable consumers. In this context, in 2021-2023 the SMP supported several initiatives aimed at ensuring digital fairness and protecting consumer’s rights when buying online (including in digital finance), addressing the new challenges to the safety of products brought by new technologies and online sales, along with tackling unfair online practices and manipulations such as dark pattern models and hidden influencer marketing. In 2023, the programme financed a supporting study that provides the evidence basis for the fitness check of EU consumer law on digital fairness. The latter evaluates whether EU consumer law is still adequate in the digital environment or whether any targeted changes are necessary. It examines issues such as dark patterns, addictive design, emotional manipulation, commercial personalisation (advertising, pricing etc.), marketing activities by social media influencers, digital subscription cancellations and renewals, unfair contract terms and use of artificial intelligence chatbots in customer service.  

^{(12) For example, the 2021 Euroclusters ‘Supporting The Recovery And Business Transformation Of Lighting & Furniture SMEs’ project recently published a second call for business digital transformation projects (total call budget EUR 135 000).}

Budget performance – outcomes

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With implementation in the third year of this new programme, a midterm evaluation has been launched to assess the performance of the SMP as a whole during the first 3 years of implementation. A tailored monitoring and evaluation framework was developed in 2023, whose purpose is to ensure the effective assessment of the SMP’s progress towards the achievements of its objectives. Additional second-level indicators (design and content level) for the pillars and the programme as a whole have been adopted via a delegated act (Commission Delegated Regulation 2023/2445 of 28 July 2023) and supplement the core performance indicators already established in the legal basis (annex IV to the SMP regulation). While certain interventions throughout the programme to some extent contribute to several horizontal priorities at the same time, there is a need to further align and explore more and deeper synergies. The results of the first midterm evaluation will serve as a substantial source of information to feed into this reflection, enhancing synergies in the context of the horizontal priorities.

Making the internal market more effective by supporting the development, implementation and enforcement of EU law in the areas of the internal market for financial services

• In 2023, the single market programme continued to support the Commission’s policy work fostering stable and globally competitive financial markets in the interest of businesses and consumers and promoting growth and job creation. To that end, the Commission continued its work to also advance competitiveness with its actions to promote a European capital markets union. That resulted in the Commission adopting legislative initiatives that alleviate the administrative burden on businesses including SMEs. 
• To enhance retail investors’ trust and confidence to safely invest in their future and take full advantage of the EU’s capital markets union, in May 2023 the Commission adopted its retail investment strategy. The strategy aims to foster participation in EU capital markets, which are an essential means to channel private funding into the economy and to fund the green and digital transitions. To ensure the EU’s financial sector can adapt to the ongoing digital transformation, in June 2023 the Commission put forward a proposal to amend and modernise the current payment services directive (PSD2), which will become PSD3, and also establish a payment services regulation (PSR). These will ensure that consumers can continue to safely and securely make electronic payments and transactions in the EU, domestically or cross-border, in euro and other currencies. To ensure that consumers and small businesses can continue to access and pay with euro banknotes and coins across the euro area, and to set out a framework for a possible new digital form of the euro, in June 2023 the Commission adopted its ‘single currency package’. The package includes a legislative proposal establishing the legal framework for a possible digital euro and a legislative proposal on the legal tender of euro cash, which ensures that cash remains easily accessible for people and businesses across the euro area. 
• In April 2023, the Commission adopted a proposal further strengthening the existing EU bank crisis management and deposit insurance framework. This will enable authorities to organise an orderly market exit for failing banks of any size and business model, including smaller banks. Through this proposal, the EU will protect taxpayers and depositors, and increase the efficiency of the crisis management framework for the economy. 
• To address the need to improve levels of financial literacy in the EU, in September 2023 the Commission published a joint EU–Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development financial competence framework for children and young people, which was then supported by a capital markets union social media campaign. 
• To support the green transition, in June 2023 the Commission put forward a new package of measures to strengthen the foundations of the EU sustainable finance framework. The package aims to ensure that the framework continues to support companies and the financial sector, while encouraging the private funding of transition projects and technologies. In this respect, the Commission added additional activities to the EU taxonomy and proposed new rules for environmental, social and governance rating providers, which will increase transparency on the market for sustainable investments.

Product market surveillance

• The EU product compliance network, composed of Member State representatives in the area of market surveillance and officials of the Commission, continued working on the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 on market surveillance, which entered into force in July 2021. The implementation of the regulation includes initiatives financed by the EU budget.
• Under the SMP, the Commission provides yearly financial support for joint actions between the market surveillance authorities of different Member States, to undertake joint product inspection campaigns. The purpose of the cooperation is to harmonise the ways of working at the EU level, especially in terms of risk assessment of the products tested. When a campaign is finalised, the market surveillance authority coordinating the action presents the results to the EU product compliance network, and follow-up action is undertaken to remedy any issues identified. This is a way to share best practices, and is much appreciated by the members of the network. Two campaigns were finalised in 2022 (portable heaters and recreational crafts). Thirty product campaigns are currently ongoing.
• The Commission supports the market surveillance authorities with the development of three information technology pilot projects meant to facilitate and automate the work of market surveillance inspectors. A special focus is put on e-commerce surveillance. The development of the tools is ongoing. The purpose of this initiative is to provide the Member States with effective tools, especially for less digitally advanced market surveillance authorities.
• The Commission continues to offer Member States a platform for the exchange of information between market surveillance authorities, namely the information and communication system for market surveillance. The platform is continuously maintained and developed to meet the needs of market surveillance authorities.
• Various cooperation agreements have been set up under the SMP in the form of administrative arrangements. The purpose of these activities is to collect relevant information in order to implement evidence-based policy. DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs cooperates with the Joint Research Centre for the collection of national market surveillance indicators and peer reviews between market surveillance authorities. The first results were delivered in 2022. DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs also has a cooperation agreement in place with DG Taxation and Customs Union for the development of a system for exchanging data between customs authorities and market surveillance authorities, under which the first data was delivered in 2022.

Consumer protection pillar – Ensuring high levels of consumer protection and product safety

• One of the top priorities of the consumer policy, outlined in the New Consumer Agenda for 2020-2025, is to empower consumers to take an active role in the twin green and digital transitions. The Consumer pillar supports the convergence of digital and green thinking: reducing the environmental impact of digital technology and using digital tools to foster sustainable production and consumption. European consumers rightly expect to benefit fully from the single market and to live in a fair market – online and offline – where the sustainable choice is the easy and affordable choice, and digitalisation works to the benefit of all. To help consumers in this transition, the Commission has adopted a new law granting consumers the right to repair common household appliances and established new rules to ensure consumers are better informed and better protected, for example against early obsolescence, greenwashing or misleading environmental claims. The digital transformation offers to consumers opportunity to make comparisons between products, to check their environmental impacts and reliability of information. To ensure that consumers derive full benefit from the digital transformation which is radically changing consumers’ lives by offering opportunities while addressing new challenges, the SMP supported initiatives aimed at tackling dark patterns, ensuring digital fairness and protecting consumer’s rights when buying online. The Commission also adopted new EU-wide rules on product safety that cover new digital technologies and online sales. Consumers are now also better protected regarding financial services contracts concluded at a distance. 
• Under the consumer protection pillar, the programme continued to finance Safety Gate, the EU’s rapid alert system for the dissemination of information on dangerous non-food products, so the national authorities in the single market can take effective action. In 2023, Safety Gate enabled the circulation of 3 412 alerts, or 55% more than the annual average observed over the last 5 years. This increase can be explained by the constant improvement of the system and wider use of the e-surveillance web crawler, launched by the Commission in 2022 to enhance authorities’ capacity to trace dangerous products. This powerful tool traces whether dangerous products banned from sale are removed from all online listings. It is now used by more than 500 surveillance authorities in 29 EU/EEA countries and detects on average 2 000 online offers of reported dangerous products every week. 
• The consumer pillar also facilitated cooperation among EU/EEA market surveillance authorities to reinforce the safety of products placed in the single market by financing the joint testing of products, the analysis of the outcomes, assessing the risks, taking the measures on dangerous products, along with sharing of knowledge and best practices.
• In 2021-2023, the programme provided EUR 24 million to the European Consumer Centres network, which helps consumers with cross-border purchases and educates them about their rights when shopping on the single market. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, the European Consumer Centres have been at the forefront of helping consumers confronted with cancellations of flights and package travel, problems related to online shopping and the increase in the number of scams. In 2023, the network received 125 000 requests for assistance. In 22 500 cases it acted as an intermediary with the trader in obtaining redress, which resulted in the recovery of over EUR 9 million.
• The consumer budget continues to support the operational capacities of the national consumer protection cooperation authorities responsible for the enforcement of EU consumer protection laws. The action grants were awarded to consumer protection cooperation authorities to assist them in, for example, exchanging good practices, creating online investigation tools, training staff, developing artificial intelligence tools to detect online infringements and creating a new database of consumer complaints to allow similar market issues to be detected in several Member States. The grants also support EU authorities’ networking activities with non-EU enforcement bodies as part of the international consumer protection and enforcement network. In 2023, on Member States’ request, the support scheme was changed from grants to public procurements that facilitated organisation of workshop on dual quality and peer-to peer meetings. 
• The programme provides financial contributions to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) entities aimed at providing redress to consumers without them having to go to court. The action grants support activities including training for practitioners, customised assistance for vulnerable consumers, the creation of an online case-handling tool and exchanging of best practices. Sectoral seminars and workshops organised in 2021-2023 brought together more than 300 practitioners to attempt to strengthen the effectiveness of ADR bodies and to address challenges relating to the energy crisis and the shift towards digitalisation. As digital markets require quick and simple redress mechanisms, the SMP facilitated to gather evidence-based information from alternative dispute resolution practitioners and other stakeholders to feed the Commission’s proposal to revise the Alternative Dispute Resolution directive. In 2021-2023 the consumer pillar funded several initiatives to help over-indebted consumers to remedy their economic wealth by facilitating exchange of best practices and capacity building to debt advisors, and by offering action grants to support creation of stable debt-advice services and the networks of experts.
• In 2023, the programme financed a supporting study that provides the evidence basis for the fitness check of EU consumer law on digital fairness, and which evaluates whether EU consumer law is still adequate in the digital environment.
• The programme has supported several capacity-building, awareness-raising and education activities, for example: (1) Consumer-Law Rady project providing training courses dedicated to SMEs; (2) Consumer Pro training programme addressed to consumer organisations and other actors in consumer protection; (3) Enforcement Academy aiming to improve the digital investigation and enforcement capacities of national consumer protection authorities and consumer safety networks; (4) Influencer Legal Hub, an online library providing guidelines for social media influencers; and (5) ‘Better Internet for Kids’, ensuring that children are protected, respected and empowered online.
• The programme also provides an operating grant of EUR 2.4 million per year to The European Consumer Organisation (Bureau européen des unions de consommateurs (BEUC)) to support various activities aimed at defending the interests of European consumers and providing support to the consumer organisations.

Enhancing the participation of consumers in financial services

• In 2023, the programme provided action grants to two organisations (Better Finance and Finance Watch) for their actions contributing to the SMP’s specific objectives on enhancing the participation of consumers, other end users of financial services and representatives of civil society in financial services policymaking; promoting a better understanding of the financial sector and of the different categories of commercialised financial products; and ensuring that the interests of consumers in the area of retail financial services are protected. Since the launch of the SMP, the two beneficiaries have been working successfully towards the achievement of the programme’s objectives, including by producing a number of position papers, research reports and replies to public consultations informing EU policymaking in the field of financial services.

SME pillar

• The SME pillar of the SMP continues to implement the SME strategy and the SME components of the updated industrial strategy, along with supporting the work of the SME relief package. It has a strong focus on supporting SMEs’ growth and recovery and the green and digital transitions, while helping the former to achieve success in an increasingly competitive and fast-moving environment.
• The 2023 SME pillar work programme included the budget contribution for multiannual initiatives launched in 2021 (the Enterprise Europe Network, the joint cluster initiative, Erasmus for young entrepreneurs and the intellectual property voucher for post-COVID-19 recovery and the green and digital transitions). There were also calls for proposals for the tourism and social economy sectors.
• The first results of the calls launched in 2021 and 2022 are now available. The later launch of the Erasmus for young entrepreneurs call, due to the ongoing previous project, means that the full 2023 picture is not yet available. However the data so far (2 086 matches from a target of 3 000) is encouraging. The other two key indicators are on track. The Enterprise Europe Network and Joint Cluster Initiative calls were launched in 2021 and the numbers of SMEs, clusters and business network organisations, and business support organisations supported is 266 448, with a midterm target of 320 000 expected by 2025. Business partnerships are measured at 1 724, with the target of 2 700 to be achieved by 2024.
• Enterprise Europe Network advisory services are now available in Ukraine (an Enterprise Europe Network Ukraine grant agreement was signed in October 2022), and Ukrainian businesses are also active participants in Erasmus for young entrepreneurs exchanges. EUR 10 million was allocated in 2023 to launch the Enterprise Europe Network energy advisors call following the inflation rise combined with the energy prices. This call responds to the needs of SMEs that are seeking to improve their energy performance.
• An additional call of EUR 4.5 million was launched to facilitate the integration of Ukrainian SMEs into the single market (both businesses based in Ukraine and displaced Ukrainian-registered companies currently operating from the EU. The action complements successful initiatives undertaken by the existing and consolidated networks – including their Ukrainian members – of the Enterprise Europe Network, the European Cluster Collaboration Platform, the Ukrainian Cluster Alliance and the Erasmus for young entrepreneurs intermediary organisations.
• The preliminary findings of the ongoing evaluation of the programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (2014-2020) are encouraging for the work which continues for many of the SME pillar actions, but in particular for the work of the Enterprise Europe Network, covering over 40% of the operational budget.

Standardisation pillar

• The 2022 indicator shows that most European standards are available in all Member States, and this supports the smooth implementation of EU legislation and policies in the single market. Financing focuses on projects that support the strategic priorities for European standardisation and ensures the effective participation of all relevant stakeholders in the standardisation processes. The high implementation rate is additional proof of the quality and wide acceptance of European standards in the single market.
• In 2023, the programme provided grants to three organisations (the European financial reporting advisory group, the international financial reporting standards foundation and the public interest oversight board) for their work on the development of international financial reporting and auditing standards. 
• In addition to continuing its financial reporting advisory activities, the European financial reporting advisory group received a new mandate from the corporate sustainability reporting directive, adopted on 14 December 2022, to develop European sustainability reporting standards. The directive is a key instrument to support the EU sustainable finance agenda and important to meet the objectives of the European Green Deal. The European financial reporting advisory group submitted the first set of 12 final draft European sustainability reporting standards on 22 November 2022 covering 10 topical sustainability matters including climate change, pollution, own work force and affected communities. The Commission adopted the standards on 31 July 2023, they entered into force at the end of 2023; first application is for the financial year 2024. The European financial reporting advisory group, with the Commission’s mandate, has continued developing further drafts for additional standards and guidance pertaining to directive matters, for example specific draft standards for small and medium-sized companies, implementation guidance on two key concepts under the directive (value chain of companies, materiality assessment) and drafts on a digital classification system required by the directive.
• In July 2022, the international accounting standards board published its feedback statement on the third agenda consultation, outlining its priorities and work activities for the 2022-2026 period. The three main strategic priorities are to maintain the strategic direction and balance of the international accounting standards board’s activities while increasing slightly efforts to develop digital financial reporting and improving the understandability and accessibility of international financial reporting standards; to progress current projects; and to add intangibles, statement of cash flows and climate-related risk in financial statements to the work plan. These priorities also have a direct impact on the work plans of the European financial reporting advisory group and the public interest oversight board. 

Food pillar

• Among the important achievements in the area of food and feed (a high level of health for humans, animals and plants), despite the sizeable decrease of the budget available, it is worth noting the dramatic reduction of both food-borne salmonellosis in humans (due to programmes implemented in poultry flocks for many years) and classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease, with no cases for several years). Lumpy skin disease, an emerging cattle disease, has also been controlled effectively (vaccination campaigns), with no outbreaks in south-eastern Europe since 2017. In the area of plant health, the co-funding, although significantly decreased, has helped Member States effectively survey their territories and take early actions in case of findings. Several outbreaks of longhorn beetles have been declared eradicated in 2021-2023.
• The better training for safer food programme has contributed to increase knowledge of Member State staff involved in official controls. In 2023, 195 training sessions were organised with a total of 5 866 participants, and 2 863 staff participated in e-learning courses.
• In order to achieve objectives laid down in SMP, different activities were financed, such as support to EU reference laboratories and EU reference centres, actions to fight antimicrobial resistance, actions to reduce food waste, food information campaigns and information technology initiatives.
• In 2019, the Commission’s Internal Audit Service requested that DG Health and Food Safety further improve and simplify the financial management of the veterinary and phytosanitary programmes. In the light of this process, the DG signed an administrative arrangement with the Joint Research Centre to develop new methodologies for the calculation of unit costs in both areas. In the final report, the Joint Research Centre suggested the use of lump sum as a matter of simplification, as the payment is based on the technical results achieved and no invoices or financial checks are needed anymore before the payment. After the adoption of the decision of 23 March 2022, authorising the use of lump sum contributions for annual and multiannual veterinary and phytosanitary programmes under the single market programme, lump sums have been used for 2021-2022 grant agreements.

Statistics pillar

• Eurostat continued to provide high-quality European statistics to support the Commission’s six headline ambitions. Moreover, it provided European statistics specifically supporting EU policymaking in response to the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the related energy crisis, along with the management and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. 
• The key performance indicator, measuring Eurostat’s impact on the internet, shows that the programme has performed well. The number of times that Eurostat is mentioned on the internet has increased and has overcome the target, also due to a change in the behaviour of Talkwalker, the information technology tool used to measure it. According to Talkwalker, the application programming interface used to retrieve X (formerly Twitter) mentions provides more numerous results than in the past. This is due to the fact that X had changed their policy and give access to more data. The percentage of negative opinions continues to be extremely low, showing trust in and satisfaction with the data produced.

MFF 2014-2020 – multiannual financial framework – Programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises

COSME supports measures to strengthen the competitiveness and sustainability of SMEs, which also achieve additionality at the EU level. This encompasses measures to foster growth; scale up and create SMEs; improve access to markets (including through internationalisation); improve access to finance for SMEs in the form of equity and debt; promote entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial skills, the business environment and digital transformation; create new business opportunities for SMEs (including those with innovative business models); improve the competitiveness of industrial ecosystems and sectors; develop industrial value chains; modernise industry; and contribute to a green, digital and resilient economy.

Budget

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2023 (million EUR):

[notranslate]SMPWeb:budg_08:table[/notranslate]

Performance assessment

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In 2019, SMEs accounted for over 60% of the increase in EU-27 added value, and 70% of the increase in EU-27 employment. In both cases, SMEs’ contribution was driven by micro-SMEs, which accounted for 31% and 56% of the total growth in value added and employment respectively ⁽¹³⁾.

However, in 2020 the COVID-19 crisis brought to an abrupt halt or even reversed the gains made by the EU SME sector over the past decade. Many industries, especially in the SME-intensive services sector, experienced large declines in sales as a result of the various lockdowns and other measures introduced by Member States, while some other industries saw their sales increase. The various business support measures implemented by Member States during the pandemic limited the employment impact of the decline in economic activity. 

Since 2020, a recovery has taken place but new challenges have arisen, such as historically high inflation and high energy prices. The 2023 SME performance review shows that across the EU, the number of SMEs has recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic and increased by 2.7% in 2022. Employment in SMEs rose by 2.4% in 2022. SME employment took until 2022 to reach 2019 levels. In the high inflation environment of 2022, SME added value, when adjusted for inflation, declined by 2.5%.

Up to September 2023, the loan guarantee facility had enabled more than 900 000 SMEs to receive more than EUR 56 billion in financial support over the 2014-2023 period. In reaction to the COVID-19 crisis, EUR 714 million from the European fund for strategic investments was redirected (since 2020) to the programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises loan guarantee facility to allow the European investment fund to incentivise banks to provide liquidity to SMEs affected by the crisis. More flexibility was given to users of the facility, and the guarantee rate was increased from 50% to 80%. Up to September 2023 this helped more than 110 000 European SMEs to access more than EUR 10 billion in liquidity finance under the COVID-19 measure of the programme for the competitiveness of enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises within the loan guarantee facility.

By September 2023, the funds supported by the equity facility for growth had invested more than EUR 8 billion in more than 1 000 companies. Of this amount, more than EUR 5 billion was invested in more than 700 SMEs in their growth and expansion stage.
 

^{(13) SME performance review.}

MFF 2014-2020 – Food and Feed

The food and feed programme aims to prevent, control and eradicate animal diseases and plant pests, support sustainable food production and consumption and improve animal welfare and the effectiveness, efficiency and reliability of official controls.

Budget

Cumulative implementation rate at the end of 2021 (million EUR):

[notranslate]SMPWeb:budg_11:table[/notranslate]

 Performance assessment

[notranslate]SMPWeb:budg_12:progress[/notranslate]

Among the important achievements in the area of food and feed (a high level of health for humans, animals and plants), it is worth noting the dramatic reduction of both food-borne salmonellosis in humans and classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (mad cow disease, which has almost disappeared). Lumpy skin disease, an emerging cattle disease, has also been controlled effectively (vaccination campaigns), with no outbreaks in south-eastern Europe since 2017. In the area of plant health, the co-funding, although significantly decreased, has helped Member States effectively survey their territories and take early actions in case of findings.  

In 2014-2020, the European Court of Auditors published several reports assessing the implementation of the food and feed programme. In chemical hazards in our food – special report 02/2019, the Court emphasised that the EU’s food safety model in respect of chemicals is considered a point of reference, and that it is soundly based and respected. On 26 April 2016, the Court published dealing with serious cross-border threats to health in the EU – Special report 28/2016 on a performance audit on animal disease eradication programmes, and drew positive conclusions on DG Health and Food Safety’s management of the programmes. All of the Court’s recommendations referred to initiatives that were already ongoing, and all of them have already been finalised. 

The food and feed programme has contributed to the improvement of animal welfare through its financial support for courses (better training for safer food programme) in this area in several countries. This has led to improvements in this sector, as stated by the Court of Auditors, which emphasised in Animal Welfare in the EU – Special report 31/2018 that EU action on animal welfare has improved compliance with the EU’s requirements and has supported higher standards, with a clear positive impact on animal welfare. 

In 2019, the Internal Audit Service requested that DG Health and Food Safety further improve and simplify the financial management of the veterinary and phytosanitary programmes. In light of this process, DG Health and Food Safety signed an administrative arrangement with the Joint Research Centre to develop new methodologies for the calculation of unit costs in both areas. The work suffered slight delays because of the COVID-19 situation, but the final report on the review of the methodology for unit costs in the veterinary area was submitted by the Joint Research Centre to DG Health and Food Safety in March 2021. At the same time, the report for phase 1 concerning a new methodology for the calculation of unit costs for sampling activities in the phytosanitary area (where no such approach existed) was also submitted by the Joint Research Centre. The Joint Research Centre final report suggested the use of lump sum as a matter of simplification, as the payment is based on the technical results achieved and no invoices or financial checks are needed anymore before the payment. 

Contribution to the sustainable development goals