SMEs are the economic backbone of OECD and EU Member countries and Eastern Partnership countries. SMEs make a significant contribution to job creation and drive expansion and innovation in a number of sectors that are key for growth and development.

To support SME policy development in the Eastern Partnership countries, the OECD and its partner organisations EU, EBRD and the European Training Foundation developed a framework for co-operation under the aegis of the Eastern Partnership Platform 2 on ‘Economic Integration and Convergence with EU policies’. The approach builds on policy dialogue and peer-review mechanisms based on independent assessments and government self-evaluation of the enterprise policy framework in place.

The first meeting of the Eastern Partnership Enterprise Policy Working Group took place on 25 October in Brussels, Belgium.

The objective of the Working Group is to support the development and implementation of effective policy measures directed at promoting the development of a strong private enterprise sector and indirectly supporting employment generation and innovation. This objective will be achieved through a process which includes the benchmarking of policy performance at country and regional level. Strong and weak points in policy elaboration and implementation will be identified through a process of consultation with private sector associations, governments of the region and donors.