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The Government of the Republic of Serbia

In the service of citizens

Belgrade Declaration on European Charter for Small Enterprises signed

Belgrade, 26 October 2005

Serbian Minister of Economy Predrag Bubalo and representatives of governments of the countries of the Western Balkans and Moldova signed today the Belgrade Declaration on the European Charter for Small Enterprises at the seventh regional meeting of national coordinators for the Charter's implementation in the Western Balkans.

The Belgrade Declaration states that the European Charter for Small Enterprises is a means for establishing close cooperation between countries of the Western Balkans and Moldova, and their cooperation with the European Commission, with the aim of realising the full potential of small enterprises.

The Declaration calls for the continuation of implementation of the Charter's principles in the countries of the Western Balkans and Moldova, and for the dialogue with the European Commission on the methods for the achievement of that goal.

The European Charter for Small Enterprises was adopted in 2000 in Portugal at a session of heads of governments of the then 15 EU member states.

The Charter highlights the importance of small enterprises for economic growth, competitiveness and employment, and prescribes ten key principles for boosting their development, such as education and training for entrepreneurs, cheaper and faster start-up of companies, better legislation and regulation, availability of skills, improving access to funds and a favourable taxation system.

A total of 35 countries, which includes Serbia-Montenegro, have made a commitment to respect the Charter. The European Commission asked the opinion of the Western Balkan countries and Moldova on the future of the process of implementation of the Charter within their jurisdiction. Their response has been integrated within the Declaration, which is a document describing the process as a means for achieving true international competitiveness of all the economies concerned and is to be used as a stepping-stone for full EU membership.

Minister Bubalo said after the signing of the Declaration that this document is a political act, due to the expressed commitment of the countries from the region to secure a regular exchange of experiences in the development of the SMEs sector, which are the principle driving force for economic growth and a way for preparing each economy for entering the EU.

Participants in the meeting said that the opening of new small and medium-sized enterprises is very important for the upcoming period, which will be marked by the process of an intensified restructuring of large public systems and a subsequent need for new jobs following this process.

The regional meeting on the European Charter was held at the same time as the international annual conference of the Serbian Ministry of Economy dedicated to the SMEs sector, whose theme these year was "Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises – the Driving Force of European Integration".

The new plan of the Serbian government for boosting SMEs development was presented at the conference. The provisions of the plan are in line with the principles of the European Charter for Small Enterprises.