As the country begins to turn its attention to whether or not it approves of the EU's Constitution, concern is rising that UK SMEs are not keeping up-to-date with European developments that will increasingly affect them.
In particular, the Forum of Private Business (FPB) says, they are not properly represented at the "vast majority" of EU meetings. With 10 new Member States set to join the EU on 1 May, the FPB is concerned that smaller firms in the UK need to increase the influence they have in the decision-making processes that affect their survival.
The Forum is doings its part: it is the only full UK member of UEAPME, the employer's organisation representing the interests, at European level, of crafts, trades and SMEs in the whole of Europe, which represents the business interests of some 10 million businesses, employing in excess of 50 million people throughout Europe.
