SMEs account for 90% of businesses in the European Union.

Omissions

• The most recent official figure before the session date (2026-10-21) is 99.8% of all EU enterprises, published in the Annual Report on European SMEs 2025/2026 (22 June 2026) — the same 99.8% figure had already been published in the 2025 edition (data for 2024), so the 90% claim was already outdated/inaccurate before the speech.
• No official EU statistic puts the SME share of the number of EU enterprises at 90%: the ~90% level is not the enterprise share but closer to no standard indicator (SMEs account for ~64.9% of employment and ~53% of value added). The speaker may have conflated the enterprise-count share with a rough employment or 'business activity' share.
• The claim as delivered (Greek original) also asserted SMEs are 99% of Greek businesses; the EU-wide figure is in fact higher (99.8%) than the Greek figure quoted, reversing the implied contrast between the EU and Greece.
• Automatic source check: 1 primary source(s) with unreachable URL(s) were discarded (https://www.ggb.gr/sites/default/files/basic-page-files/Annual%20Report%20on%20European%20SMEs%202025.pdf); the verdict stands on the remaining evidence.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Commission JRC Publications — Annual Report on European SMEs 2025/2026, SME performance review"As the vital drivers of European economy, SMEs - representing 99.8 % of the total business population - remain central to the Union's economic health. This report provides a data driven performance overview for 2025 and a forecasting outlook for 2026..."
• PrimaryEuropean Commission, DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs — Annual Report on European SMEs 2025/2026"The EU's 34 million SMEs demonstrated solid growth in 2025 and are consolidating a recovery from recent crises. Their real value added grew by 2.5%, employment by 1.0%, and the number of enterprises by 1.8%." Publication date: 22 June 2026.