SME Policy Index: Eastern Partner Countries 2012
Progress in the Implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe
This ssessment of SME policy frameworks in eastern partnership countries helps support SME policy development in the eastern partnership countries through identification of strong and weak points in SME policy elaboration and implementation.
Executive summary
The six Eastern Partner (EaP) countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) have emerged as an important economic region, strategically located between the East and West and in proximity to markets in the EU, the Middle East and Central Asia. With a combined total population of 75.5 million people, a highly educated workforce and vast land and energy resources, the region’s average GDP growth reached 5.3% in 2010.