ABSTRACT
The focus of enterprise policy is upon facilitating the success of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in an increasingly challenging business environment. The needs and requirements of larger enterprises are more adequately reflected in a range of other policies such as those related to trade, competition and industry. In addition, SMEs face unique problems that require specific policy solutions. The need for such policies within the European business environment is underlined by the fact that over 99. 8 per cent of all enterprises within the EU are classified as SMEs (see Table 8.1). Despite this, SMEs have often been neglected within the policy process.
