Interrogating ‘Enterprise Europe’: issues of coordination, governance and spatial development in the European Union's emerging enterprise policy

Joseph Leibovitz

International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, 2003, vol. 27, issue 3, 713-722

Abstract: This article provides a critical examination of the still‐emerging European Enterprise Policy. European‐wide Enterprise Policy is a relatively recent addition to the host of initiatives and strategies designed to address issues of economic competitiveness and innovation in the EU. In its current form European Enterprise Policy focuses on the promotion of small and medium enterprises as a panacea for economic growth, innovative capacity, productivity gains and job creation. The first part of the article places European Enterprise Policy within a wider political economy, and draws attention to the notions of competitiveness and enterprise embedded in current policy discourse. The second part of the discussion examines more closely issues of integration, governance and spatial development, arguing that awareness of spatial dynamics is, at the moment, a missing element in this policy framework. Cet article présente un examen critique de la Politique européenne de l'entreprise, encore balbutiante. La politique de l'entreprise à l'échelle de l'Europe est un ajout relativement récent à la multitude d'initiatives et de stratégies concçues pour résoudre les questions de concurrence économique et d'innovation dans l'UE. Sous sa forme actuelle, la Politique européenne de l'entreprise se consacre à la promotion des petites et moyennes entreprises en tant que panacée procurant croissance économique, capacité novatrice, gains de productivité et création d'emplois. La premieère partie de l'article replace cette initiative au sein d'une économie politique plus large et attire l'attention sur les notions de compétitivité et d'entreprise incluses dans le discours politique actuel. La seconde partie explore les questions d'intégration, de gouvernance et de développement spatial, soulignant que la prise de conscience de la dynamique spatiale est, pour l'instant, absente de ce cadre politique.

Date: 2003
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