The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) (www.fsb.org.uk) has joined around 70 other ‘member organisations’ from more than 30 European countries in SMEunited, which represents national ‘cross-sectoral’ craft and SME federations across Europe and works on resolving issues such as late payment and online platforms.

FSB policy and advocacy chairman Martin McTague said: “At a time when our relationship with Europe is undoubtedly changing, joining SMEunited is a sign that no matter what the future partnership with the EU looks like, we will continue to be working closely with our neighbours.

“There are many issues we can work together on, such as tackling the problem of persistent late payers, helping to limit the cumulative regulatory burden on small businesses, and improving the law enforcement response to cyber-crime.

“I am sure that membership of SMEunited will be hugely beneficial, not only to FSB members but to all SMEs across the country and the continent.”

Last month, FSB put out a small-business plan for Europe.

This included: prohibiting persistent late payers from all future public procurement contracts (via a targeted revision of the EU’s Public Procurement Directive); ensuring that all future and revised trade agreements contain a comprehensive small-business chapter; making existing skills initiatives and policies more inclusive of smaller businesses and sole traders (and thereby help them to ‘up-skill’ and meet their skill demands); adopting strict rules on regulatory changes to help limit the cumulative burden on small businesses; improving the law enforcement response to cyber-crime in the longer term through effective co-ordination of member states’ cyber-security and crime agencies; and developing an EU-level framework for ‘women’s enterprise’.