Changes from plenary report to adopted text

64. Calls on the Commission, therefore, to introduce tools such as a single digital entry point to easily identify opportunities for SMEs stemming from international trade agreements; welcomes in this respect the launch of the new Commission portal named ‘Access2Markets’ on customs procedures and formalities and urges the Commission to ensure multilingual access to this tool;

65. Recalls the need to actively involve SMEs in international trade agreements and push for reciprocity to ensure their access to public procurement in third countries; calls therefore for the inclusion in trade agreements of a standalone SME chapter that signposts micro-enterprise and SME-friendly provisions from other chapters and provides a fast means for microenterprise and SME owners to identify relevant and beneficial aspects of the agreement;

66. Urges the Commission to pursue a level playing field and a regulatory environment in which SMEs can thrive and compete globally and to consider the deployment of trade defence instruments (TDIs) in order to reduce unfair competition resulting from illegal or unfair trade practices of third countries, including trade defence measures unfairly blocking EU businesses from enjoying free access to their markets;

67. Considers that national and European public administrations should lead by example and facilitate and increase the participation of SMEs and micro-enterprises in public procurement, by simplifying access to information regarding calls for tenders and procedures, while avoiding disproportionate requirements and discriminatory practices such as tendering criteria that set demands or qualifications beyond the fundamental elements of the service or goods purchased, and thereby contribute to the shortening and diversification of supply chains;

68. Calls for more guidance to be provided to public authorities and SMEs on existing flexibilities and the adaptation of public procurement rules to this end;

69. Notes that the division of larger contracts into smaller lots could contribute to the shortening and diversification of supply chains, offering better incentives for local SMEs including by facilitating SMEs’ participation in innovation procurements and pre-commercial procurements, which are generally accessible only to larger groups;

70. Calls for the valuing of ‘Km 0 contracts’ by providing for premium criteria for local businesses, by borrowing in this regard from the European agricultural legislation and shorter supply chains; calls for the possibility for public policy makers to favour contracts with local SMEs to a certain extent;

71. Underlines the importance of working in partnership with national administrators to create a European public procurement market which is based on moderate-sized tenders that allow SMEs to participate in the procurement process, including through the division of larger contracts into smaller lots, and where real and fair competition between market actors can take place, and highlights the need to make the European single procurement document (ESPD) more accessible to SMEs;

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72. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council and the Commission.