The Directorate-General (DG) for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is the European Commission service responsible for:

-completing the Internal Market for goods and services;

-helping turn the EU into a smart, sustainable, and inclusive economy by implementing the industrial and sectorial policies of the flagship Europe 2020 initiative;

-fostering entrepreneurship and growth by reducing the administrative burden on small businesses; facilitating access to funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and supporting access to global markets for EU companies. All of these actions are encapsulated in the Small Business Act;

-generating policy on the protection and enforcement of industrial property rights, coordinating the EU position and negotiations in the international intellectual property rights (IPR) system, and assisting innovators on how to effectively use IP rights;

-delivering the EU's space policy via the two large-scale programmes Copernicus (European Earth observation satellite system) and Galileo (European global navigation satellite system), as well research actions to spur technological innovation and economic growth.

DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is based in Brussels and has approximately 1,400 staff working under the political leadership of Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska. The Commissioner is also the EU’s SME Envoy tasked with ensuring that all EU policies respect the 'think small first' principle. The DG is managed by Director-General Lowri Evans. Her work and the work of the DG as a whole is supported by the Chief Economist Team.