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Most jobs in the EU are provided for by Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs), companies of 250 employees or less. They have a crucial importance for the future development, but very often face enormous bureaucratic hurdles and obstacles. European SMEs deserve to be better assisted to fully unlock their potential of long term sustainable growth and of more job creation. To achieve this goal, the European Commission has unveiled the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA), based on ten guiding principles and proposes policy actions to be undertaken by both the Commission and Member States.

Portugal has made significant progress in fiscal consolidation and has launched important structural reforms to modernise the economy and enhance growth. After a weak performance from 2001 to 2005, output growth recovered in the past two years and, in 2007, it reached 1.9%, still insufficient to close the large income gap with wealthier OECD countries. Reaping the full benefits from globalisation in terms of faster and more sustainable growth and a durable decline in unemployment will require securing fiscal consolidation, improving the business environment and enhancing the adaptability of the labour market.

The annual rate of growth of M3 stood at 10.5% in May 2008, unchanged from the previous month. The three-month average of the annual growth rates of M3 over the period March 2008 - May 2008 declined to 10.4%, from 10.6% in the period February 2008 - April 2008.

Ten years of Economic and Monetary Union have been a major success, but improving growth rates is largely up to national governments implementing economic reform, MEPs were told at an Economics Committee hearing on Tuesday. Strengthening the international representation of the eurozone was also a key goal.

A Commission proposal to promote clean and energy-efficient road transport by obliging public authorities to consider not only the cost, but the environmental impact, of the vehicles that they plan to purchase was backed by the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety on Tuesday. MEPs want the "green award" environmental criteria, including fuel costs, to become mandatory as soon as 2010, but also to exclude certain vehicles from the proposal.

In April 2008 compared with March 2008, the euro area (EA15) industrial new orders index rose by 2.5%. In March the index fell by 1.2%. In the EU27 new orders grew by 3.6% in April 2008 after declining by 1.0% in March. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment industrial new orders increased by 2.2% in the euro area and by 1.6% in the EU27.

By 2020, 25% of the EU's population will be over 65. To respond to this growing demographic challenge, the Council of Ministers approved a Commission plan to make Europe a hub for developing digital technologies designed to help older people to continue living independently at home. The proposal, presented by the Commission on 14 June 2007, will provide some additional €150 million funding to a new European Joint Research Programme, resulting in a total investment of over €600 million.

The internal market for goods in the European Union will get a major boost after the final approval by Member States of a broad package of measures which removes the remaining obstacles in this field. It will bring particular benefits for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), who will no longer be discouraged from doing business outside their domestic markets.

All air fares, published in any form and addressed to the public, must include all taxes, fees and charges added to the basic ticket price and known at the time of publication, says a deal with the Council approved by the Transport Committee on Tuesday. Like other consumers, air passengers have a right to clear and comprehensive information on the price they actually have to pay, says the text, which will be debated and put to a plenary vote in July.