EU policy helps make EU industry and business more competitive and promotes job creation and economic growth by creating a business-friendly environment.
With globalisation and stronger competition from emerging countries, Europe’s long-term economic prosperity will depend on the strength of its industrial base, not on services and banks alone. Research and innovation plays a key role in developing the technologies and approaches to ensure Europe’s manufacturing future.
A suite of EU programmes help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to access finance and markets, and support entrepreneurship, business creation, internationalisation and growth.
The EU is working to remove the remaining barriers to trade and to avoid creating new ones by promoting a business and consumer-friendly EU market, based on simple, transparent and consistent rules and standards.