On 9th July 2013, WIL acted as official partner for the book launch of “Entrepreneurs need Freedom” (Trauner Verlag, 2013), written by Dr. Paul Rübig, Member of the European Parliament and Co-founder and Honorary President of the business association SME Europe. WIL member Afke Schaart, Senior Director of EU Institutional Relations at Microsoft, also expressed her support for women entrepreneurs by attending the event, which took place at the European Parliament in front of an exclusive audience invested in the growth and flourishing of SMEs in Europe.

For this occasion, WIL had the opportunity to personally interview Dr. Paul Rübig on his views on the role of SMEs in the European economy, female entrepreneurship and new technologies as a means to support start-ups (videos in English and German below).

The book “Entrepreneurs need Freedom” (the English translation is currently underway) uses initiatives of the European Parliament benefitting SMEs to illustrate the European community’s legislation process on the basis of practical examples. It thus functions in two ways: On the one hand it promotes SMEs as an engine of growth and introduces concrete measures to support them. On the other hand it allows European citizens to follow and understand the legislative processes at work that make up the daily routine of those who represent them at the EU level.

The evening was opened by MEP Nadezhda Neynsky, President of SME Europe, followed by MEP Iulio Winkler, who introduced Dr. Paul Rübig as the so-called “SME MEP” for his endless dedication to the needs of small and medium-sized companies.

Dr. Rübig then briefly introduced his book, emphasizing the importance of encouraging female entrepreneurship and the role of SMEs in reducing youth unemployment, before handing over the microphone to statements from Christian Weinberger, Senior Advisor Entrepreneurship & SME Policy at the Directorate General Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission, and Bettina Lorentschitsch, Head of the Commerce Department of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber.

Christian Weinberger specifically pointed out Dr. Rübig’s dedication to promoting female business angels and supporting the COSME program (Programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs 2014-2020) of the European Commission. Bettina Lorentschitsch mentioned tight regulations as an obstacle to SMEs’ growth and urged the European representation to explain and justify its actions and function to the very skeptical enterprises. She argued for a simplification of the tax system and the bureaucracy surrounding the foundation of a company, to give entrepreneurial minds incentives rather than discouragement.

Finally, Dr. Rübig thanked WIL and Microsoft for their support and opened the floor for the Q&A, in which the aspects of diversity, global mobility and data protection were addressed. Overall, the prevailing attitude of the evening was the desire to remove regulations and other barriers that counteract the initiative and innovative spirit of Europe’s entrepreneurs. The book is one example of how such progress can be achieved at the European level.