Europe
EU member states have had individual definitions of what constitutes an SME. For example, the definition in Germany had a limit of 255 employees, while in Belgium it could have been 100.
In July 2011, the European Commission said it would open a consultation on the definition of SMEs in 2012. In Europe, there are three broad parameters which define SMEs: micro-entities are companies with up to 10 employees; small companies employ up to 50 workers, whilst medium-sized enterprises have up to 250 employees. SMEs are also defined as firms with either revenue (turnover) of €10–50 million or a balance-sheet total of €10–43 million.
Read more about this topic: Small And Medium Enterprises
Famous quotes containing the word europe:
“That land is like an Eagle, whose young gaze
Feeds on the noontide beam, whose golden plume
Floats moveless on the storm, and in the blaze
Of sunrise gleams when Earth is wrapped in gloom;
An epitaph of glory for the tomb
Of murdered Europe may thy fame be made,
Great People! as the sands shalt thou become;
Thy growth is swift as morn, when night must fade;
The multitudinous Earth shall sleep beneath thy shade.”
—Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822)
“In Europe the object is to make the most of their land, labour being abundant: here it is to make the most of our labour, land being abundant.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)
“In Europe an actor is an artist. In Hollywood, if he isn’t working, he’s a bum.”
—Anthony Quinn (b. 1915)