The Commission considers a company to be an SME according to the following criteria:
Medium sized enterprises are those that :
- have fewer than 250 employees
- have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 50 million or annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 43 million
- are independent*
Small enterprises are those that :
- have fewer than 50 employees
- have an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 10 million or annual balance sheet total not exceeding EUR 10 million
- are independent*
*Independent enterprise means no more than 25% of the capital or voting rights are owned by one or more enterprises which fall outside the SME definition. This threshold may be exceeded when an enterprise is held by a public investment corporation, Venture Capital Company or other institutional investors, provided they exercise no control.