A meeting of the SBA Public-Private Working Group took place in Yerevan on 11 July, to launch the third cycle of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) Assessment, organised by the OECD in the framework of the EU-funded project ‘EU4Business: From Policies to Action’.

The Small Business Act for Europe is an overarching framework for EU policy on SMEs. It aims to improve the approach to entrepreneurship in Europe, simplify the regulatory and policy environment for SMEs, and remove the remaining barriers to their development.

The third cycle of the SBA assessment for the Eastern Partner Countries will start in September 2018. The assessment will build on the established methodology and process of previous assessment rounds, but has been revised to incorporate new elements aiming at broadening the scope of the publication to allow for an evaluation of the overall business climate conditions and to more accurately reflect private sector perspectives.

This SBA Public-Private Working Group meeting provided an opportunity for the government to present an overview of the progress achieved on implementing the recommendations provided in the last SBA assessment cycle (2015-16). It also allowed private sector representatives and key stakeholders to comment on recent developments and reform effectiveness. The OECD presented the updated methodology and framework for discussion, in preparation for the start of the assessment.

An expert seminar on the SME strategy design also took place in the framework of the SBA Public-Private Working Group meeting. The aim of the seminar was to present international good practices on SME strategy design, such as the importance of setting realistic targets, displaying a logic of intervention with priority actions organised along a limited number of strategic directions, and developing action plans with clear responsibilities for implementation.