Small and medium-sized (SME) enterprises face new challenges as a result of the EU expansion, including investing in technology, a leading authority has commented.

Patrick Voller, secretary general of the SME Union, made his comments at the annual Microsoft and Partners meeting in Brussels, which took place on June 12th - EU SME day, eGov monitor reported.

He stated that SMEs should be considered the "backbone" of the European economy.

Mr Voller asserted, however, that the globalisation of the economy, alongside the expanding EU makes setting up a firm and "even investing in information and in communications technology or providing an adequate training and education for the staff, a new challenge".

The SME Union is an action group which seeks to shape EU legislation in order to make it friendlier to smaller organisations.

It recently made 21 proposals to the EU's enterprise commissioner Gunter Verheugen, calling for reductions to the administrative burden SMEs face.