OVERVIEW ON ROMANIA’S SMALL BUSSINES ACT PROFILE IN 2015

• Main Authors: CODRUŢA DURA, IMOLA DRIGĂ
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: University of Petrosani 2015-12-01
• Series: Annals of the University of Petrosani: Economics
• Subjects: Small Business Act (SBA); entrepreneurship; skills & innovation; the "second chance"; "think small-scale first"; responsive administration; state aids & public procurement; access to finance; “single market”
• Online Access: http://www.upet.ro/annals/economics/pdf/2015/part2/Dura-Driga.pdf

The paper dwells upon the current position of SMEs in Romania's economy, starting with the implementation the new Small Business Act (SBA), concept made operational at the level of the European Committee. The main purpose which drove the decision to develop this tool, resides in making it easier to understand the newest trends in each member of the European Union, and based on these, to develop appropriate measures of public policies for SMEs. In 2015, Romania’s SBA overall performance continues to be lower than the EU average. Still, the Romanians are proficient in entrepreneurship, where they have gained the lead amidst the EU countries. On the other hand, the weakest results displayed by the Romanian SMEs refer to the domain of skills and innovation. The paper also highlights several areas in which Romania achieves levels of performances comparative to their EU competitors: responsive administration, state & aid public procurement, access to finance and the attitude of the population with regard to granting of a “second chance” for entrepreneurs who have already registered a bankruptcy. Low - level ranks are obtained in the matter concern towards environment, the connection to the single market and the degree of internationalization.