Press release 14.10.2012

Euronews Interview 

Monday 15 October at 21:45 CET on air

And on iPhone, iPad, Android devices and live streaming on euronews.com

Antonio Tajani

Vice-President of the European Commission, responsible for Industry and Entrepreneurship.

"We have made mistakes in the past, by only putting [...] finance at the centre"

 "We have to do exactly the opposite: put industry and enterprise at the centre and use the finance to help the real economy"

As part of the European SME Week, Euronews met the Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, and questioned him on key SME projects aimed at overcoming the economic crisis. Antonio Tajani stressed his commitment to put "the real economy at the centre of economic policies" and unveiled an action plan for the green car and another for the steel industry in 2013. He also reminds us that a European directive protects SMEs against the many outstanding debts they suffer.

The full interview will be on air on Monday 15 October at 21:45 CET also available on demand on euronews.com in 11 full services (Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish and Ukrainian).

Duration: 8'. Interview conducted in French by Serge Rombi, special correspondent, in Brussels.

On exit of the crisis

"We're committed to putting the real economy at the centre of economic policies. We have made mistakes in the past, by only putting finance and services at the centre. We pushed industry and enterprise into a corner. But we have to do exactly the opposite: put industry and enterprise at the centre and use the finance to help the real economy."

On the automobile sector threatened

"I am working on an action plan to help the automobile sector. We are going to increase the money committed in our financial plans to 1.5 billion euros for research and innovation in the green car sector. Green cars will also be at the centre of our new industrial policy."

On the steel sector in crisis

"I am going to present an action plan favouring the steel sector before next summer, laying out what Europe can do to reinforce this crucial sector. Of course, there is a problem of remaining competitive with Chinese and other Far East companies. We need a good strategy, a real action plan to defend this sector which is crucial to our economy."

On off-shoring

"We have to try for a new type of industrial policy, highlighting our quality and meeting the challenge from China, India, Russia, the United States, and Brazil on quality. We can't win on quantity but we have an opportunity to win thanks to the European network."

About the difficulties encountered by SMEs

"[...] there is the European Directive to be applied in all Member States before the end of March 2013 on late payments. Authorities must pay SMEs within 30 to 60 days maximum. Otherwise there will be an 8% penalty. All Member States will have to do it. So it's a message from Europe to entrepreneurs and company employees."

Interview to watch on euronews.com

For further information, please contact: 

Grégoire de Rubiana               tel. +33 (0)6 60 69 30 34                [email protected]

Lydie Bonvallet                       tel. +33 (0)4 72 18 80 56                [email protected]

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