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From 18 to 20 November 2024, Budapest hosted the SME Assembly, a flagship event co-organised with the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. This annual conference brought together experts and high-level representatives to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Europe. Panels, round tables, interactive workshops and master classes punctuated three days of productive exchanges, highlighting crucial topics such as innovation, public procurement, and mental health in the workplace.
The SME Assembly took place in Budapest, Hungary, from 18 to 20 November 2024, and was co-organised with the Hungarian Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The conference is held once a year as part of European SME Week, in collaboration with the Network of SME Envoys, the assembly that creates the governance structure for the Small Business Act.
We attended high-level panels (representing the OECD, the European Commission, etc.), expert roundtables, interactive workshops and informative master classes. More specifically, the parallel sessions in which we took part addressed the following topics:
• Setting standards: innovative approaches to SME involvement
• Public procurement: innovative and SME-friendly
• New way of working: the burden of mental health
• Open Strategic Autonomy: what's in it for SMEs?
• Youth entrepreneurship awards
• etc.
This event also enabled us to network, discover new opportunities for Wallonia and exchange views on the different economic realities of the Member States. It was also an opportunity to meet the Commission and pass on messages about the reality facing SMEs in Europe.