2. Benchmarking national and regional e-business policies for SMEs Erkki Liikanen, Member of the Commission Enterprise and the Information Society Brussels, 20 June 2002 European Commission

3. Benchmarking national and regional e- business policies for SMEs SMEs are vital to Lisbon objectives SME Internet access up from 40% to 70% between 1999 and 2001 SMEs are reducing gap on larger enterprises BUT... SMEs still lagging behind Still regional digital divide in EU On-line trading is not yet widespread Next challenge is e-Business, not just e-Commerce... The state of play: 2/5

4. Benchmarking national and regional e- business policies for SMEs Use of ICT by SMEs is at high level across the EU (84% to 98%) Significant variations exist between countries in adoption of e-Business by SMEs, e.g. Web access (54% - 90%) Making e-commerce purchases (5% - 43%) Making e-commerce sales (3% - 29%) Source : Eurostat survey - e-Commerce and ICT usage by European enterprises, 2001 SME adoption of e-Business: 3/5

5. Benchmarking national and regional e- business policies for SMEs Better statistics and analysis still needed Continued co-operation and exchange of best practice between Member States and regions e-Europe 2005 Action Plan will lead to e-business Support Network The main responsibility of the Commission is to facilitate best use of resources rather than to directly support SMEs Next priorities: 4/5

6. Benchmarking national and regional e- business policies for SMEs Many of the best initiatives are regional/local Intelligent use of EU Funds can make a difference SME support actions must be flexible to changing needs Not much need and scope for direct European support in favour of SMEs Key lessons: 5/5