Annual Report on European SMEs 2017/ 2018
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue to recover – intra-EU-28 exports are a key driver of growth!
SMEs form the basis of the EU-28 economy. Between 2008 and 2017, the gross value added generated by EU-28 SMEs increased by 14.3% and employment by 2.5% on a cumulative basis and growth is expected to continue in the coming year.
An essential point for the positive results is the internationalisation of SMEs. Exports by SMEs in the EU-28 countries have increased by 20% since 2012. The internal market is the most important in the EU-28 in this respect.
The annual report was prepared in a consortium with the participation of DIW Econ.