Text · Opinion parliamentary committee
On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2016/1036, (EU) 2016/1037, (EU) 2017/1129, (EU) 2023/1542 and (EU) 2024/573 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures
Full title
On the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2016/1036, (EU) 2016/1037, (EU) 2017/1129, (EU) 2023/1542 and (EU) 2024/573 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures
Document INTA-AD-778169 · COM(2025)0501 – C100092/2025 – 2025/0130(COD)
- Kind
- Opinion parliamentary committee INTA-AD-778169
- Date
- 2 December 2025
- Committee
- Committee on International Trade
- Rapporteur
- Bernd Lange
- Dossier
- 2025-0130
More facts (3)
- Formats
- Official page PDF Word
- Subject matter
- LES, PME
- Reference
- COM(2025)0501 – C100092/2025 – 2025/0130(COD)
In short
A summary of the text written by AI; ¶ opens the paragraph it rests on.
AI: In short Written by AI from the official text — check the source · deepseek-flash · 25 Sept 2026
The Committee on International Trade gives its opinion on the Commission proposal to extend certain SME mitigation measures to small mid-cap enterprises (SMCs) and to simplify rules. It proposes amendments to two trade defence regulations, Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037. The amendments widen the trade defence Helpdesk to serve SMCs as well as SMEs, add a new recital on debureaucratisation, and require the annual report to evaluate the Helpdesk's capacity to serve both groups. The rapporteur supports introducing the SMC category, but says broadening the Helpdesk must not undermine service quality; resources should be added if needed, timelines respected and investigations shortened, with regular evaluation in the annual report.
Position. The committee proposes amendments to the trade defence parts of the proposal: widen the Helpdesk to SMCs, add a recital on debureaucratisation and a simplified complaint format, and require the annual report to evaluate the Helpdesk's capacity for SMEs and SMCs.
Key points
- The Commission proposal extends to SMCs the trade defence Helpdesk obligation to raise awareness, give general information and explanations on procedures and reply to non-case-specific queries.
- The proposal also extends to SMCs the requirement that investigation periods coincide with the financial year whenever possible, especially for diverse and fragmented sectors.
- The rapporteur agrees the SMC category is necessary, as SMCs face administrative burdens similar to SMEs, and calls for monitoring of Helpdesk service quality and more resources if needed.
- The rapporteur asks that timelines be respected and investigations shortened to limit the impact of unfair practices on SMEs and SMCs, with regular evaluation in the annual report to Parliament and the Council.
- Amendment 1 replaces the opening of Recital 13 to state that effective implementation of trade defence measures is vital for competitiveness and quality jobs.
- Amendment 2 adds Recital 13a: the Commission should explore financial and legal technical assistance from member states in complex cases and promote a fully digitalised, paperless process for non-confidential documents.
- Amendment 2 also requires the Commission to develop a streamlined, simplified complaint format and process tailored for SMEs and SMCs to speed up lodging complaints.
- Amendments 3 and 6 correct editorial mistakes in the introductory parts of Article 2 and Article 3 of the proposal.
- Amendment 4 replaces the second subparagraph of Article 5(1a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 so the Helpdesk, without the word SME, makes available standard forms for statistics for standing purposes and questionnaires.
- Amendment 5 replaces the second subparagraph of Article 23(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 so the annual report includes evaluation of the Helpdesk's capacity to provide efficient services to SMEs and SMCs.
- Amendment 7 replaces the second subparagraph of Article 10(1a) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 so the Helpdesk, without the word SME, makes available standard forms for statistics for standing purposes and questionnaires.
- Amendment 8 replaces the second subparagraph of Article 32a(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 so the annual report includes evaluation of the Helpdesk's capacity to provide efficient services to SMEs and SMCs.
Who is affected
- Small and medium sized enterprises and small mid-cap enterprises, which would gain access to the trade defence Helpdesk and its services.
- The Commission, which must run the Helpdesk, explore assistance avenues, develop a simplified complaint format and report on the Helpdesk's capacity.
- Member states, which are asked to provide financial and legal technical assistance in complex trade defence cases.
- Diverse and fragmented industry sectors largely composed of SMEs or SMCs, which would benefit from easier access to trade defence instruments.
Figures and deadlines
- 12 September 2023: date the Commission published the SME Relief Package.
- 250-749 employees: the bracket with high shares of companies used to define SMCs.
- Three times the size of SMEs: how much larger SMCs are under the definition.
- 21.5.2025: date of the Commission Recommendation on the definition of small mid-cap enterprises.
Text
The text as parsed from the official Word file. Every paragraph has a link (¶) and can be saved to a project as a passage.
Jump to an amendment (8)
Short justification
On 12 September 2023, the Commission published the SME Relief Package, announcing its goal to help small and medium sized enterprises to compete and grow, by - amongst others - being attentive to the needs of enterprises that outgrow the thresholds of the SME definition, and the broader range of small mid-cap enterprises (SMCs). In reports by Mario Draghi on ‘The future of European competitiveness’ and by Enrico Letta’s ‘Much more than a market’, both authors argue that EU regulation imposes a proportionally higher burden on SMEs and SMCs than on larger enterprises and suggest the Commission should extend the existing mitigation measures, currently available to SMEs, to SMCs to extend proportionality in EU law to them.
The objective of the Commission proposal is to provide targeted policy support that can help companies to scale, in particular in relevant and important sectors. In the current economic context and with a view to the sectors with high shares of companies in the bracket 250-749 employees the definition for SMCs therefore covers enterprises that are three times the size of SMEs. This is to better accompany scaling up of enterprises and to cover a larger number of companies. The Commission has issued a recommendation formalising such definition - Commission Recommendation of 21.5.2025 on the definition of small mid-cap enterprises - C(2025) 3500 final, as part of a simplification package for small mid-caps. This proposal, which amends a number of legislative acts forms part of that package.
Two of the Regulations amended by the Commission proposal are core EU trade defence tools: Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union.
Under the above mentioned Regulations the Commission must facilitate access to the trade defence instruments for diverse and fragmented industry sectors, largely composed of SMEs, through a dedicated SME helpdesk, for example by raising awareness, providing general information and explanations on procedures and on how to submit a complaint, by releasing standard questionnaires in all official languages of the Union and by replying to general, non-case-specific queries. Commission's proposal extends this obligation vis-à-vis SMCs so that they benefit equally from the guidance and assistance of the helpdesk.
Another provision which is being amended, and its scope extended, is the requirement that investigation periods must, whenever possible, especially in the case of diverse and fragmented sectors coincide with the financial year. SMCs will equally benefit from this provision.
The Rapporteur agrees that the introduction of the SMC category in the legislative framework is necessary. They are prominently present in industrial ecosystems and are key to the competitiveness of the Union and its technological sovereignty but, where administrative burden is concerned, they face similar challenges as SMEs. The amendments proposed in Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 are therefore useful. Broadening the scope of the services provided by the current SME Helpdesk to include also SMCs as beneficiaries should however under no circumstances undermine the quality of such services. It is therefore appropriate that the quality of provided services is monitored and if necessary, more resources are attributed to the Helpdesk. It is also very important that the timelines are respected and that the general length of investigations is shortened to mitigate the impact of unfair practices on SMEs and SMCs. Regular evaluation of these elements should be presented in the framework of the annual report to the European Parliament and the Council.
The Committee on International Trade submits the following to the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety and Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, as the committee responsible:
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (13) Regulations (EU) 2016/1036 and (EU) 2016/1037 are part of the Union’s trade defence system. They allow the Union to investigate and address dumping and subsidisation by third countries and restore a level playing field in the Union market. If an investigation confirms the existence of such practices and resulting injury to the Union industry, the Commission imposes an anti-dumping or countervailing duty, provided such imposition is not against the Union interest. Anti-dumping and antisubsidy investigations require active involvement from enterprises. Investigations are normally initiated on the basis of a formal complaint from the affected Union industry that must contain evidence of the unfair practice and of the injury it has caused. Investigations require active involvement of, and data from, producers, importers and users of the product in the Union. Mainly because of their fragmentation and lack of resources, it is often very difficult for SMEs to understand trade defence and cooperate in trade defence proceedings. This is why Regulations (EU) 2016/1036 and (EU) 2016/1037 include provisions to overcome the barriers that stop smaller enterprises from accessing and using trade defence, namely through a dedicated helpdesk, and by, whenever possible, aligning investigation periods with the financial year. It is considered appropriate to ensure that SMCs also benefit from those provisions. | (13) Regulations (EU) 2016/1036 and (EU) 2016/1037 are part of the Union’s trade defence system. Effective implementation of trade defence measures is vital for maintaining the competitiveness of key Union industrial ecosystems and securing quality jobs. Those Regulations allow the Union to investigate and address dumping and subsidisation by third countries and restore a level playing field in the Union market. If an investigation confirms the existence of such practices and resulting injury to the Union industry, the Commission imposes an anti-dumping or countervailing duty, provided such imposition is not against the Union interest. Anti-dumping and antisubsidy investigations require active involvement from enterprises. Investigations are normally initiated on the basis of a formal complaint from the affected Union industry that must contain evidence of the unfair practice and of the injury it has caused. Investigations require active involvement of, and data from, producers, importers and users of the product in the Union. Mainly because of their fragmentation and lack of resources, it is often very difficult for SMEs to understand trade defence and cooperate in trade defence proceedings. This is why Regulations (EU) 2016/1036 and (EU) 2016/1037 include provisions to overcome the barriers that stop smaller enterprises from accessing and using trade defence, namely through a dedicated helpdesk, and by, whenever possible, aligning investigation periods with the financial year. It is considered appropriate to ensure that SMCs also benefit from those provisions. It is essential to ensure that the quality of the services provided by the dedicated helpdesk remains unaffected and that the services are delivered in a timely manner. The Commission should dedicate sufficient resources to actively monitor and effectively investigate unfair competition practices and swiftly adopt measures to counter dumping and illegal subsidies. It is important to shorten the average length of investigation procedures to mitigate the impact of unfair practices on SMEs and SMCs. A regular evaluation of the capacities of the helpdesk, including the need for more financial, technical and human resources, should therefore form an integral part of the annual report to the European Parliament and to the Council. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (13a) To embody the European principle of debureaucratisation and administrative efficiency for SMEs and SMCs the Commission should facilitate access to the trade defence instrument for sectors, largely composed of SMEs or SMCs, through a dedicated helpdesk, not only by awareness raising and by providing general information and explanations on procedures but also by exploring and promoting avenues for financial and legal technical assistance from Member States in complex trade defence cases and by further promoting a fully digitalised and paperless process for the submission of non-confidential documentation. The Commission should also develop and establish a streamlined, simplified complaint format and process, tailored specifically for SMEs and SMCs to expedite the lodging of complaints by those entities. |
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Regulation (EU) No 2016/1036 is amended as follows: | Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 is amended as follows: |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1a) in Article 5 (1a), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: | |
| The SME Helpdesk shall make available standard forms for statistics to be submitted for standing purposes and questionnaires. | The Helpdesk shall make available standard forms for statistics to be submitted for standing purposes and questionnaires. |
The added paragraph comes from the existing text of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036. Reference to 'SME' before Helpdesk is deleted for consistency purposes.
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (2a) in Article 23 (1), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: | |
| That report shall include information about the application of provisional and definitive measures, the termination of investigations without measures, undertakings, reinvestigations, reviews, significant distortions and verification visits, and the activities of the various bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of this Regulation and fulfilment of the obligations arising therefrom. The report shall also cover the use of trade defence instruments by third countries targeting the Union and appeals against the measures imposed. It shall include the activities of the Hearing Officer of the Commission’s Directorate General for Trade and those of the SME Helpdesk in relation to the application of this Regulation. | 'That report shall include information about the application of provisional and definitive measures, the termination of investigations without measures, undertakings, reinvestigations, reviews, significant distortions and verification visits, and the activities of the various bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of this Regulation and fulfilment of the obligations arising therefrom. The report shall also cover the use of trade defence instruments by third countries targeting the Union and appeals against the measures imposed. It shall include the activities of the Hearing Officer of the Commission’s Directorate General for Trade and those of the Helpdesk in relation to the application of this Regulation including the evaluation of the capacities of the Helpdesk to provide efficient services to SMEs and SMCs. |
The last sentence of the existing text of Article 23(1) second subparagraph of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 is amended to reflect that the annual report should contain also evaluation of the capacities of the Helpdesk to deal with possible higher number of requests after the inclusion of SMCs into its scope.
| Text proposed by the Commission | Amendment |
|---|---|
| Regulation (EU) No 2016/1037 is amended as follows: | Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 is amended as follows: |
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (1a) in Article 10(1a), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: | |
| The SME Helpdesk shall make available standard forms for statistics to be submitted for standing purposes and questionnaires. | The Helpdesk shall make available standard forms for statistics to be submitted for standing purposes and questionnaires.’ |
The added paragraph comes from the existing text of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037. Reference to 'SME' before Helpdesk is deleted for consistency purposes.
| Present text | Amendment |
|---|---|
| (2a) in Article 32a (1), the second subparagraph is replaced by the following: | |
| That report shall include information about the application of provisional and definitive measures, the termination of investigations without measures, undertakings, reinvestigations, reviews, significant distortions and verification visits, and the activities of the various bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of this Regulation and fulfilment of the obligations arising therefrom. The report shall also cover the use of trade defence instruments by third countries targeting the Union and appeals against the measures imposed. It shall include the activities of the Hearing Officer of the Commission’s Directorate General for Trade and those of the SME Helpdesk in relation to the application of this Regulation. | 'That report shall include information about the application of provisional and definitive measures, the termination of investigations without measures, undertakings, reinvestigations, reviews, significant distortions and verification visits, and the activities of the various bodies responsible for monitoring the implementation of this Regulation and fulfilment of the obligations arising therefrom. The report shall also cover the use of trade defence instruments by third countries targeting the Union and appeals against the measures imposed. It shall include the activities of the Hearing Officer of the Commission’s Directorate General for Trade and those of the Helpdesk in relation to the application of this Regulation, including the evaluation of the capacities of the Helpdesk to provide efficient services to SMEs and SMCs. |
The last sentence of the existing text of Article 32a (1) second subparagraph of Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 is amended to reflect that the annual report should contain also evaluation of the capacities of the Helpdesk to deal with possible higher number of requests after the inclusion of SMCs into its scope.
Back matter, 1
Parts that accompany the text rather than belong to it: explanatory statement, annexes, opinions appended by other committees. Collapsed.
Annex: declaration of input 1 block
The rapporteur for opinion declares under his exclusive responsibility that he did not include in his opinion input from interest representatives falling within the scope of the Interinstitutional Agreement on a mandatory transparency register, or from representatives of public authorities of third countries, including their diplomatic missions and embassies, to be listed in this Annex pursuant to Article 8 of Annex I to the Rules of Procedure.
Procedure pages and committee votes
How the committees handled the text and how their members voted on it. Collapsed.
Procedure – committee asked for opinion 1 block
| Title | Amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2016/1036, (EU) 2016/1037, (EU) 2017/1129, (EU) 2023/1542 and (EU) 2024/573 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures | ||
| References | COM(2025)0501 – C10-0092/2025 – 2025/0130(COD) | ||
| Committee(s) responsible Date announced in plenary | ECON 10.7.2025 | ENVI 10.7.2025 | LIBE 10.7.2025 |
| Opinion by Date announced in plenary | INTA 10.7.2025 | ||
| Rapporteur for the opinion Date appointed | Bernd Lange 15.7.2025 | ||
| Rule 59 – Joint committee procedure Date announced in plenary | 10.7.2025 | ||
| Discussed in committee | 4.11.2025 | ||
| Date adopted | 2.12.2025 | ||
| Result of final vote | +: –: 0: | 30 2 4 | |
| Members present for the final vote | Christophe Bay, Anna Bryłka, Daniel Caspary, Benoit Cassart, Andi Cristea, Markéta Gregorová, Bart Groothuis, Enikő Győri, Svenja Hahn, Karin Karlsbro, Martine Kemp, Rudi Kennes, Sebastian Kruis, Bernd Lange, Ilia Lazarov, Miriam Lexmann, Thierry Mariani, Gabriel Mato, Javier Moreno Sánchez, Daniele Polato, Francesco Torselli, Inese Vaidere, Catarina Vieira, Iuliu Winkler, Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez | ||
| Substitutes present for the final vote | Mika Aaltola, Nicolas Bay, Saskia Bricmont, Danilo Della Valle, Tomasz Froelich, Jean-Marc Germain, Hana Jalloul Muro, Branislav Ondruš | ||
| Members under Rule 216(7) present for the final vote | Laurent Castillo, Günther Sidl |
Final vote by roll call by the committee asked for opinion 3 blocks
30 · For
- ECR
- Nicolas Bay, Daniele Polato, Francesco Torselli
- No group
- Branislav Ondruš
- EPP
- Mika Aaltola, Daniel Caspary, Laurent Castillo, Martine Kemp, Ilia Lazarov, Miriam Lexmann, Gabriel Mato, Inese Vaidere, Iuliu Winkler, Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski, Juan Ignacio Zoido Álvarez
- Patriots
- Christophe Bay, Anna Bryłka, Enikő Győri, Sebastian Kruis, Thierry Mariani
- Renew
- Benoit Cassart, Bart Groothuis, Svenja Hahn, Karin Karlsbro
- S&D
- Andi Cristea, Jean-Marc Germain, Hana Jalloul Muro, Bernd Lange, Javier Moreno Sánchez, Günther Sidl
Connections
The dossier, the decisions on this text and its other versions.
No connections found for this item.
Sources & citation
Where the facts on this page come from, and how to cite it.
- Data source
- Licensed CC BY 4.0.
- Retrieved
- 25 September 2026
Cite as
European Parliament (2025). “OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2016/1036, (EU) 2016/1037, (EU) 2017/1129, (EU) 2023/1542 and (EU) 2024/573 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures”. Text, 2 December 2025. docId INTA-AD-778169. EU Parl Watch Research. https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/INTA-AD-778169 (retrieved 25 September 2026). Data: EP Open Data API: document record, https://data.europarl.europa.eu/api/v2/documents/INTA-AD-778169 (CC BY 4.0).
BibTeX
@misc{epw-text-inta-ad-778169,
author = {{European Parliament}},
title = {{OPINION on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulations (EU) 2016/679, (EU) 2016/1036, (EU) 2016/1037, (EU) 2017/1129, (EU) 2023/1542 and (EU) 2024/573 as regards the extension of certain mitigating measures available for small and medium sized enterprises to small mid-cap enterprises and further simplification measures}},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-12-02},
howpublished = {\url{https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/INTA-AD-778169}},
url = {https://news.eu-parl.st-solutions.dev/texts/INTA-AD-778169},
urldate = {2026-09-25},
publisher = {EU Parl Watch Research},
note = {Text. docId INTA-AD-778169. Data: EP Open Data API: document record (CC BY 4.0)}
}