(Sir Europe – Brussels) - “It is essential for Europe to boost its appetite for entrepreneurship and support its potential and new entrepreneurs”: Antonio Tajani, deputy president of the European Commission in charge of industry, launches a public consultation, asking for opinions and suggestions on initiatives in support of the “will to do business” in the old continent. According to the EU Executive’s statistics, while unemployment is on the rise, just 11% of the EU citizens are engaged in any business; after all, 45% of them “would love to be self-employed if only they could”. To “unleash this huge growth and employment potential”, the EU Commission would like to start, as early as next autumn, “an action plan for entrepreneurship”. Hence the consultation, “aimed at collecting feedback from the parties concerned and the citizens about the scope of potential EU-wide, nationwide and region-wide entrepreneurship-boosting measures”. In particular, the EU Commission highlights three points: promoting an entrepreneurial spirit in schools and universities; women and elderly people as “neglected target groups for entrepreneurship”; “migrants and minorities, potential entrepreneurs”. The consultation is online at: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/public-consultation/index_en.htm[>>].

17/07/2012 -