Alfred Sant jappella għal aċċess indaqs għall-finanzjament lin-negozji żgħar kollha

L-artiklu fir-rivista politika li tkopri aħbarijiet u opinjoni dwar il-Parlament Ewropew jelenka r-rwol kruċjali li għandhom l-SMEs fl-ekonomija Ewropea u fl-irkupru ekonomiku ta’ wara l-Covid 19. Jiffoka wkoll fuq il-ħtiġijiet reali tan-negozji ż-żgħar fl-iżvilupp tal-Unjoni tas-Swieq Kapitali.

Alfred Sant huwa ‘shadow rapporteur’ għal rapport ta’ inizjattiva intitolat “Aktar żvilupp tal-Unjoni tas-Swieq Kapitali: titjib fl-aċċess għall-finanzjament tas-suq kapitali, b’mod partikolari għan-negozji żgħar, u li jippermetti aktar il-parteċipazzjoni tal-investitur “.

B’dan ir-rapport ta’ inizjattiva, il-Parlament Ewropew qed jitlob lill-Kummissjoni Ewropea tressaq proposta leġiżlattiva dwar il-kwistjoni ta’ aċċess aħjar għall-finanzi għan-negozji żgħar. Ir-rapport, li qed isejjaħ għal Unjoni tas-Swieq Kapitali b’saħħitha li tipprovdi fondi għan-negozji żgħar, ser jitressaq għal vot fil-plenarja aktar tard din is-sena.

Rapport ta’ inizjattiva jitfassal skond il-proċeduri tal-Parlament stess. Għalkemm mhix meqjusa bħala waħda mill-proċeduri formali tal-Unjoni Ewropea, hija titqies bħala prekursur sinifikanti għall-proċeduri leġiżlattivi.

Fl-artiklu, Alfred Sant jikteb li l-isfida hi li tiżgura aċċess ugwali għall-finanzjament madwar l-Ewropa billi mhux il-pajjiżi kollha se jkunu mgħammra bl-istess mod biex jirkupraw mill-kriżi. Bl-iżbilanċ prieżistenti fiż-żona ewro, l-Ewropa tan-Nofsinhar x’aktarx tissielet aktar fil-fażi ta’ rkupru. Pajjiżi li għandhom proporzjon kbir ta’ negozji żgħar x’aktarx ikunu inqas reżiljenti minħabba li n-negozji ż-żgħar normalment ikollhom inqas kollateral li joffru lill-banek għas-self.

 

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Alfred Sant calls for equal access to finance for all SMEs

The article in the fortnightly EU politics magazine that covers European Parliament news and opinion elaborates on the crucial role played by SMEs in the European economy and in the post-Covid 19 recovery. It also focuses on the real needs of small businesses within the development of the Capital Markets Union.

Alfred Sant is the shadow rapporteur for an own initiative report entitled ‘Further development of the Capital Markets Union: improving access to capital market finance, in particular by SMEs, and further enabling retail investor participation’.

With this initiative report, the European Parliament is requesting the European Commission to put forward a legislative proposal on the issue of better access to finance for SMEs on the ground. The report, calling for a healthy Capital Markets Union that provides funding for SMEs, will be voted in plenary later this year.

An own-initiative report is drawn-up according to Parliament’s own procedures. Although it is not regarded as one of the formal decision-making procedures of the European Union, it is considered a significant precursor to legislative procedures.

In the article, Alfred Sant writes that the challenge is to ensure equal access to financing across Europe since not all countries will be equally equipped to bounce back in the upcoming crisis. With the pre-existing imbalances in the eurozone, southern Europe is likely to struggle more in the recovery phase. Countries with a big proportion of SMEs are likely to be less resilient because small businesses usually have less collateral to offer to banks against loans.