SMEUnited: The Brussels Lobby Guarding 26 Million EU Small Businesses

How 18 Lobbyists in Brussels Defend Europe's 26 Million SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the lifeblood of the European economy, making up 99.8% of all companies and providing two-thirds of private-sector employment. Yet in the corridors of Brussels, their interests can easily be drowned out by well-resourced corporate giants. SMEUnited exists to make sure that does not happen.

Bringing together more than 65 national business associations, the lobbying group acts as a unified voice for 26.1 million SMEs. Its vice-presidents include Ángela de Miguel Sanz from Spain's Cepyme, Antoni Cañete Martos of Catalan employers' group Pimec, and Celia Ferrero of the self-employed federation ATA. From a modest office on Rue Jacques de Lalaing, just 500 metres from the European Commission and 600 metres from the Parliament, the association's 18 staff maintain direct, constant contact with the institutions that draft the rules affecting their members.

That access has translated into tangible policy gains. With Ursula von der Leyen's second term, the Commission launched an ambitious regulatory simplification agenda aimed squarely at smaller firms. The target: cut reporting costs and obligations by at least 25% for all companies and by 35% for SMEs by 2030, saving an estimated €37.5 billion. So far, 12 omnibus packages have been put forward, including on sustainability, data protection, and tax simplification, together potentially slashing annual administrative burdens by more than €18 billion.

The most impactful packages drastically raise the workforce and revenue thresholds below which companies are exempted from dense sustainability reporting, cross-border tax audits and complex digital filings. SMEUnited pushed for replacing mandatory paperwork with ultra-simplified or voluntary models wherever possible. In the case of the sustainability omnibus, around 80% of firms are likely to be fully exempt, while still capturing some 90% of emissions — because those are concentrated in large companies. The group also successfully fought off a Commission proposal to extend SME-specific aid programmes to a newly created 'mid-cap' company category, guarding the financial resources reserved exclusively for the smallest businesses.

SMEUnited's Strategic Wins: Omnibus Packages, Mid-Cap Battles, and the Power of Place

The Simplification Offensive: Lifting Bureaucratic Weight

The 12 omnibus proposals are not just tinkering at the margins. By raising the employee and turnover thresholds that trigger obligations, the packages are designed to sweep away whole categories of paperwork for millions of firms. For SMEUnited, this is a direct win from years of insisting that a grid of rules designed for multinationals should not fall on neighbourhood businesses. The €18 billion annual saving estimate shows the scale, but the real test will be whether member states embrace the reforms quickly or allow the old requirements to linger through gold-plating at national level. Davide Galli, SMEUnited's president since late 2025, frames it as a competitiveness engine: “I am committed to regulatory simplification as the main driver of our companies' competitiveness.”

The Mid-Cap Showdown: Guarding the SME Purse

Brussels' decision to create a 'mid-cap' company category was a policy fix for the perverse incentive that some firms face when growing past SME thresholds and losing all benefits overnight. SMEUnited accepted that such companies should receive certain regulatory flexibilities, but drew a red line at financial aid. By keeping mid-caps out of SME support programmes, the lobby preserved funding for the very small businesses that most need it. This episode demonstrates the group's willingness to trade carefully — allowing the new category to exist while ring-fencing budgets. For growing firms, the message is clear: graduation means losing those dedicated grants, so scaling strategies must account for a steeper cost curve.

Proximity as Power: How a Small Office Shapes EU Law

SMEUnited's address is a strategic asset. At 500 metres from the Commission and 600 from the Parliament, its lobbyists can attend the meat of legislative discussions within minutes. Formal records also matter: the group is an officially recognised social partner and has logged over 229 meetings with the Commission since late 2014, 25 of them this year alone. That status grants it a seat at the table in social and employment policy negotiations — an advantage not available to every trade association. Combined with its place on the EU's transparency register, the model is one of institutionalised influence that rivals much larger corporate lobbies.

What This Means for EU Business Associations and the SMEs They Represent

For national business associations:

• Engage early with SMEUnited's policy working groups; the omnibus packages on sustainability and tax were shaped by collective input, and similar openings will arise as the 25% reduction target for 2029 is implemented.
• Use the group's social-partner status to push for local enforcement guidance aligned with the new high exemption thresholds — without it, member states may still impose reporting demands that Brussels intended to remove.

For individual SMEs:

• Check whether your company falls below the newly raised sustainability reporting thresholds. If exempt, you can redirect compliance resources to growth rather than paperwork.
• Plan for the mid-cap transition: if you are approaching the SME ceiling, anticipate the loss of dedicated grant access. Model the financing gap now to avoid a cash-flow surprise.
• Monitor the national transposition of the 12 omnibus packages; early action can turn temporary exemptions into permanent cost savings.

For public policymakers:

• SMEUnited's success in concentrating relief where it is most needed — exempting small firms while still capturing the bulk of policy goals — offers a template. Replicating that “think small first” principle in upcoming digital and labour-market regulations could multiply the competitiveness dividend.