Entrepreneurial spirit must be learned, taught and promoted

EU Parliament's Industry Committee adopts list of measures proposed by Paul Rübig MEP to ignite entrepreneurial spirit in Europe

"Europe needs more entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurial spirit does not just fall from the sky, but must be learned, taught, promoted and set free by the right framework conditions. Much more needs to be done here. We urgently need ground-breaking and effective measures, not well-intentioned announcements", stressed Paul Rübig MEP, Rapporteur, after today's vote.

The European Commission presented an 'Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan' in January 2013 to promote entrepreneurial spirit in Europe. Today, the Parliament's Industry Committee adopted a list of measures Rübig wanted to include in this action plan.

The action plan should include – according to the vote of the MEPs – tax cuts, education, aid programmes and improved framework conditions for entrepreneurs. "We want that every EU country includes, until 2015, entrepreneurial education in its school curricula and that the exchange programme 'Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs' is enlarged to 10,000 exchanges per year", Rübig explained.

The first steps for entrepreneurs who want to set out into self-employment should be made easy: "Procedures and registrations must be simplified. Push-start financing, micro credits and SME aid must become more accessible. The EU budget for 2014 also allots more funds for this. The entrepreneurial idea must stand in the centre, not bureaucracy", the MEP stressed.

Furthermore, the transfer of companies to new entrepreneurs should be eased and 'honest entrepreneurs' shall be given a second chance after bankruptcy: "96 percent of all insolvencies happen due to late payments and other practical problems. When a person has entrepreneurial spirit and courage and learns from his or her mistakes, we should not limit their freedom to create jobs", Rübig emphasised.

"One cannot create growth and employment solely by state measures at the push of a button. Politics should pull down the barriers to enable those who are ready to perform and take a risk to do so", Rübig concluded.