The EU is good for SMEs

The EU is good for SMEs

There is a perception that the EU is far removed from the day to day issues that face Small and Medium Sized enterprises (SMEs), especially here at the periphery in Ireland.

The reality is quite different as the EU “Single Market” with free movement of Goods, Services, People and Finance, first introduced WITH THE Single European Act of 1987 and effectively finalised by Maastricht Treaty of 1993, has opened up huge opportunities for companies to do business anywhere in the 27 EU Countries.

To mange a single market and maintain a level playing field across the EU does require an amount of regulation and this can sometimes seem daunting to smaller companies. The European Commission has recognised this and in order to bring the advantages of the EU single market to SMEs across Europe, the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) has been developed. The EEN facilitates access to all EU SME support programmes by providing assistance and advice at a local level. The EEN is organised in Ireland through Enterprise Ireland and local Chambers of Commerce All other countries can access their local offices through the main EEN website. Although focused on the EU the program has partners worldwide.

Enterprise Network Europe has been a major help to us and the smooth set up of our new project, AGT Technology Ireland Ltd., was a direct result of assistance from the network.
One of the issues facing WEEE recyclers is what to do with waste plastics. About 30% of electronic waste is plastics and about 50% of that plastic is not recyclable because it’s either too mixed or contaminated. While looking for a solution to this problem, we found an Austrian company who have developed a process to convert various organic wastes into high quality energy. We contacted them by email, expressing an interest in looking at their technology. Responding to us they asked if we knew Leon Agnew from Enterprise Ireland, who they knew from the Enterprise Europe Network. We know Leon, having worked with him on a previous project. This was a really useful contact, as normally in a situation like this, a huge amount of time is spent in preliminary meetings, getting to know each other before deciding to consider working together. Leon was able to short circuit this process, confirming our bone fides to the Austrian company and theirs to us. At our first meeting a deal was agreed and AGT Technology Ireland Ltd, was subsequently set up, to develop processing plants to take the unrecyclable plastics from WEEE and convert it to electricity

The Enterprise Europe Network is specifically designed to help SMEs exploit the opportunities presented by the EU single market
· Promoting cross border trade development
· Assisting SMEs in accessing EU funding
· Helping create business partnerships in Europe
· Helping SMEs find the right partner by providing access to a European wide partnering database
· Providing information and advice on EU legislation & policy
· Facilitating IP Licensing and Technology Transfer Agreements
· Supporting companies in developing Research & Innovation capabilities

To exploit the opportunities presented by the EU single market of 493 million inhabitants start at your local Enterprise Europe Network office. In Ireland here, outside Ireland here

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Computers for Irish Schools (CFIS), takes equipment, which is not quite ready for the recycling bin, and prepares it for donation to designated Schools.
http://www.computersforschools.ie/


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