Translation of "petite société " (French → English) :

3. Emphasises that, on the other hand, following a complaint from users, the Commission's Directorate-General for Competition intervened by instituting a procedure against CISAC (International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers), which includes 24 European collecting societies amongst its members; points out that the effect of the decision taken in this regard will be to preclude all attempts by the parties concerned to act together in order to find appropriate solutions – such as, for instance, a system for the clearing of rights at the European level – and to leave the way open to an oligopoly of a number of large collecting societies linked by exclusive agreements to publishers belonging to the worldwide ...[+++]repertoire; believes that the result will be a restriction of choice and the extinction of small collecting societies to the detriment of minority cultures;

I know of a case of two companies – one large and one small – in the same programme, where the large company is audited at the end of the programme and receives its grants in advance, whereas the small company has to have an annual audit, at its own expense, and receives its money in arrears.

Member States should be able to exempt small companies, as described in Article 11 of Directive 78/660/EEC, from the requirements concerning related parties and off-balance-sheet arrangements under this Directive.

As I mentioned earlier, however, I am happy to clarify that the small firm discount – i.e. the reduction of up to 20% for lending to smaller firms – will also apply to equity exposures to venture capital firms.

"Small" companies are companies which, on their balance sheet dates, do not exceed the limits of two of the following three criteria:

Member States may lighten their obligations in respect of the publication of annual accounts or dispense small companies from the requirement that the annual accounts be audited.