The European Commission has published new guidance for EU countries on making it easier to transfer ownership of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including when firms are sold across borders.
A growing number of small business owners in the EU are nearing retirement without having a successor lined up, and this could affect millions of companies over the next decade, the Commission declared in a statement on Tuesday.
Where a transfer fails, jobs, know-how and economic value may be lost, it added.
The Commission’s new Recommendation updates earlier EU guidance from 1994 on business transfers.
It calls on member states to raise awareness about business transfers and to reduce administrative, legal and tax barriers that can make it harder to sell a company to a new owner, including buyers from other EU countries. It also points to the use of digital matchmaking platforms to connect buyers and sellers.
Discussed with EU countries and business groups
The guidance recommends dedicated financing and training programmes to increase the number of potential successors and entrepreneurs, including women and other groups under-represented in entrepreneurship.
The Recommendation is on the agenda for a meeting of the SME Envoys Network — a forum bringing together EU Member States and SME associations — the Commission said.
