Activities of Miguel VIEGAS related to 2016/2032(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Access to finance for SMEs and increasing the diversity of SME funding in a Capital Markets Union (A8-0222/2016 - Othmar Karas) PT
Amendments (20)
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas SMEs and mid-caps play an important role for the European economy in terms of employment and growth;
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas access to finance is not the main problem of EU SMEs, which consistently report the lack of final demand as the main obstacle to their growth; whereas austerity policies have had a depressing effect on final demand, through the lowering of wages and cuts in public expenditure;
Amendment 25 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. whereas improving access to finance for SMEs should not lead to a lowering of financial standards and regulation;
Amendment 36 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Acknowledges the diversity of SMEs and mid-caps in the Member States, which is reflected in their business models, size, stages of development, financial structure and legal form;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Notes differences in financing conditions for SMEs between Member States, notably the quantity and cost of available funding, which are influenced by SME-specific and country-specific factors, including economic volatility, slow growth and higher financial fragility; stresses that the asymmetric economic development of the EU, along with austerity policies, are a key factor in explaining these divergences, with cumulative effects;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines the need for diverseimproving funding options for SMEs throughout their lifecycle; stresses that access to finance is also of importance for the transfer of businesses; calls on the Commission and the Member States to support SMEs in this process;
Amendment 61 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Encourages SMEs to consider the whole EU as their home market and to use the potential of the single market for their financing needs; welcomes the Commission’s initiatives supporting SMEs and start-ups in an upgraded Single Market; underlines, in this context, the importance of the implementation of the Small Business Act; calls on the Commission for a follow-up to the Small Business Acparticipate in those EU-funded initiatives tailored to their needs; highlights that most EU programs and actions are designed without regard for SMEs characteristics; expresses, in this regard, its concern at the de-regulatory bias of EU proposals for SMEs; calls, instead, for improving public information and assistance available for SMEs, along with a pro-active approach on SME participation in EU programs, as means to foster their development;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that SMEs and start-ups in particular may find it difficult to obtain appropriate funding and to identify and meet regulatory financial requirements; encourages therefore Member States in their efforts to create one-stop shops as hubs for all regulatory requirements for entrepreneurs; welcomes the Commission’s plan to launch a European Pact for starts-ups to address these issue; encourages therefore Member States in their efforts to provide financial support for SMEs;
Amendment 79 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. WelcomNotes the Commission’s initiative to identify undue barriers and obstacles to the financial sector providing funding to the real economy, in particular SMEs; underlines the importance of simplifying or modifying rules which gave rise to unintended consequences; stresses that this should not lead to a lowering of financial regulatory standards; underlines the importance of reviewing financial policies that may have induced a concentration of financial activity or diverted it towards more speculative activities, draining resources from SME funding;
Amendment 107 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Reiterates that it is primordial to enhance the SME lending capacity of banks; points out that financing by capital markets alone will not succeed in providing sufficient funding and appropriate financing solutions for SMEs;
Amendment 120 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is concerned about multiplthe rnegulatory requirements for banks and possible negative effects on lending to SMEsative effects on lending to SMEs of the EU's financial policies, particularly as they foster banking privatization, banking concentration and enhanced financial speculation through the Banking Union and Capital Markets Union, respectively; calls on the Commission to assess these effects on SME lending, with the support of the EBA and SSM;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Emphasises the importanceNotes the contribution of the SME Supporting Factor for maintaining and increasing bank lending to SMEs; calls on the Commission to examine the appropriate calibration of the factor, including size, threshold and possible interactions with other regulatory requirements; is concerned about the possible negative impact of its removal; calls on the Commission to explore the possibility of making this factor permanent;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Notes the various ongoing initiatives to improve the availability of standardised and transparent SME credit information; stresses the need to apply the principle of proportionality when requesting such credit information so as not to overburden SMEs;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Stresses the importance of public institutions as an alternative to private banking as a source of funding for SMEs;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Member States to foster a risk-taking and capital market culture; reiteratesenhance thate financial education for SMEs is key to increasing the use and acceptance of capital market solutions, allowing for a better assessment of costs, benefits and the associated risks; calls on the Member States to enhance the financial literacy of SMEliteracy of SMEs; stresses the importance of clear financial information requirements to protect SMEs from predatory financial practices;
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
Amendment 209 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Highlights the need to foster innovation through lending platforms; encourages banks to regard the use of such innovative technologies as an opportunity; stresses that alternative funding sources like crowdfunding or peer-to-peer lending offer solutions for start-ups and innovative SMEs in particular; welcomes the Commission’s assessment of the existing framework for crowdfunding; calls on the Commission to explore the need for, and potential of, a harmonised EU framework; stresses the need to ensure that these new forms of financing are fully compliant with relevant tax and financial legislation, so that they do not become a tool for tax avoidance or financial opacity; stresses the need to review current legislation in this regard;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Notes that the complexity of new financial instruments may be used to transfer the risk from financial companies to SMEs, placing an additional burden on the latter;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27