Small and medium-sized businesses and family-owned companies have often been rooted in rural areas for generations. Inadequate infrastructure and a shortage of skilled workers are putting pressure on local businesses, employees, and their families. The overall conditions must become noticeably more attractive—for work, housing, and daily life. It is also in society’s best interest to give rural areas a new boost and create new incentives for people to stay and move there.
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Small and medium-sized businesses
Anyone who confuses the sociological middle class with the entrepreneurial small and medium-sized business sector cannot formulate sustainable social and economic policies. Beyond providing products and services in demand internationally, small and medium-sized enterprises also create jobs, private income, and revenue for tax and social systems. They also assume social responsibility by supporting culture, sports, and volunteer work. This requires political support as well.
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Bürokratie belastet Unternehmen aller Größen im Alltag spürbar. Nicht zuletzt der Mittelstand braucht einen effizienten und einheitlichen Rechtsrahmen. Wer den Wirtschaftsstandort Deutschland stärken will, sollte unternehmerisches Praxiswissen frühzeitig in den Gesetzgebungsprozess einbeziehen, unnötige Bürokratie abbauen und eine digitale Verwaltung aufbauen.
In its economic policy, the EU assumes a clear distinction between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and large enterprises. However, the industrial sector in particular is characterized by larger mid-sized companies. Klaus-Heiner Röhl, senior economist at the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, believes this fact should be given greater consideration by including mid-caps in the SME definition.
The current EU definition of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) does not adequately reflect the unique characteristics of Germany’s medium-sized businesses and family-owned companies. It is long overdue to set appropriate thresholds for workforce size and financial metrics and to take qualitative criteria into account. It would also be helpful to view “mid-caps” as a supplementary category and to incorporate them into policies for medium-sized businesses.
As a sixth-generation family entrepreneur and Chairman of the BDI/BDA-Mittelstand- Committee, Hans-Toni Junius is a convinced European. One year before the European elections, he describes what he perceives and expects from Brussels. At the same time, he calls on SMEs to clearly underline the advantages of the EU within their companies and to make a bold commitment to Europe.
