According to Eurostat, SMEs account for an overall 98% of companies trading goods within the EU, including around 70% that are micro-enterprises (up to 9 people employed).

SMEs, the agency said, are responsible for about half the value of intra-EU trade in goods.

Specifically, they account for 51% of intra-EU imports and 45% of intra-EU exports.

In five member states, SMEs generate more than two-thirds of the total value of intra-EU exports of goods: Cyprus (88%) and Latvia (81%), followed by Belgium (70%), Estonia (68%) and the Netherlands (67%).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, SMEs account for less than one third of intra-EU export value in France (21%), Germany (26%), Slovakia (30%) and Ireland (32%), followed by Poland (35%), the Czech Republic (36%) and Finland (38%).

According to Eurostat, from all SME size classes, micro-enterprises are the largest contributors to intra-EU exports in six member states: Belgium (where micro-enterprises account for 46% of total intra-EU export value), Malta (37% in 2013), Hungary (26%), the United Kingdom (23%), Romania and Sweden (both 19%).

In contrast, in ten member states they generate less than 10% of total value: France, Germany, Finland (all around 4%), as well as the Czech Republic, Italy (both around 5%), Poland (6%), Denmark (8%), Slovakia, Luxembourg (both around 9%) and Portugal (10%).

In all member states, more than 90% of enterprises exporting within the EU are SMEs, ranging from 90% in the Czech Republic to over 99% in Slovenia. In the vast majority of member states, at least half the value of intra-EU imports of goods comes from SMEs.

In particular, SMEs are responsible for more than three-quarters of total import value in Latvia (85%), Cyprus (82%), Estonia (79%), Lithuania (78%) and Malta (77% in 2013).

Only in France (31%), Germany (34%), the Czech Republic (47%), Slovakia (48%) and Poland (49%), SMEs account for less than half of the imports.

Source: Cyprus Mail