Online tools and services for smaller businesses

Services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

• The Enterprise Europe Network is the world's largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with international ambitions. It has 3,000 experts across 600 member organisations in more than 60 countries. Member organisations include chambers of commerce and industry, technology centres, and research institutes.
• The Trade Defence SME Helpdesk offers importers and exporters easily accessible personal advice in case they are affected by trade defence instruments, i.e. anti-dumping or anti-subsidy measures, imposed in the EU or elsewhere in the world.
• The Online course on Trade Defence Instruments for SMEsdescribes the essential aspects that SMEs need to know in their day-to-day business.
• The Intellectual Property Helpdesk provides free information and services to support EU SMEs to both protect and enforce their Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) in partner countries:
  • China IPR SME Helpdesk
  • Latin America IP SME Helpdesk
  • South-East Asia IP SME Helpdesk
  • India IP SME Helpdesk
  • Africa IP SME Helpdesk 
• The portal Your Europe - Business provides multilingual information and online public services for companies looking for business opportunities in Europe and beyond (click on the map, select an EU country to find out about Member States’ business support activities).
• The website Entrepreneurship and SMEs provides an overview what the EU does for SMEs.
• The eTranslation service is free of charge and will help you save time and money by translating your documents and text between any two official EU languages and more!
• The Due Diligence Helpdesk on EU Sanctions for EU SMEs dealing with Iranassists EU companies trading with Iran by providing free due diligence reports regarding the compliance with EU restrictive measures (sanctions). The reports reassure EU SMEs and their financial partners about the legitimacy of their intended business projects, while highlighting any potential compliance risks.
• EU-funded business support projects provide EU companies with support services such as export market information, market access assistance, advice on regulatory issues and guidance on intellectual property rights:
  • EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
  • EU SME Centre in China
  • European ASEAN Business Centre (EABC), Thailand
  • ASEAN Trade Repository, ASEAN’s gateway to trade-related regulatory transparency for all ASEAN Member States
  • Support to European business in South East Asia markets (SEBSEAM):
    • Indonesia
    • Malaysia
    • Vietnam
    • Laos
    • Cambodia
    • Myanmar.

Information on trade fairs

• Information on Trade Fairs in Germany and worldwide provided by the AUMA Trade Fair Database by the Association of the German Trade Fair Industry, with details on the events such dates, distribution data, statistics and information on how to contact the trade fairs and event organisers.

SME Chapters in Trade Agreements

All new trade agreements will include an SME Chapter if the partner country agrees. This would allow for a better information exchange on market access issues and fruitful collaboration between the Commission and the partner country in addressing SMEs-related issues in the trade agreement.

SME Chapters may, amongst others, be found in the following trade agreements:

• EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
• EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).

The Joint Committee of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) agreed in a specific SMEs Recommendations that each Party should provide SMEs of the other Party with online information about CETA and market access, and that an SME Contact Point on each side should work together to tackle SMEs specific issues.

How to contact us

If you have a specific question on SMEs, market access or information on this website, please use the contact form.