<p> European Economic and Social Committee</p><p>Group III – SMEs, Professions and Crafts Category</p><p>Brussels, 28 January 2016</p><p>NOTICE OF MEETING SMEs, Professions and Crafts Category</p><p>Panagiotis Gkofas, spokesperson of the SMEs, Crafts and the Professions Category, invites you to attend the morning session of the category meeting to be held at the Committee in room JDE 63 on Wednesday 3 February 2016 beginning at 9 a.m. The meeting will end at 1 p.m. </p><p>The draft agenda is as follows:</p><p>Adoption of the draft agenda</p><p>Mr Gkofas – introduction to the long term objectives and the category's draft 2016 annual work programme</p><p>Appointment of Arno Metzler as spokesperson for the Liberal Professions in the Category</p><p>FIRST PANEL</p><p>Luca De Carli, Policy Officer, DG TRADE, DGA2.G.1, Trade Strategy – SME chapter in TTIP negotiations</p><p>Maria Pia Vigliarolo, Policy Officer, DG GROW, DDG2.H.1, COSME Programme, SME Envoys and Relations with EASME – Past, present and future of EU SME policies</p><p>Wojciech Sopinski, Policy Officer, DG GROW, H/2, SME Access to Markets – Internationalisation of SMEs' opportunities, partnership</p><p>Éva Dimovné Keresztes DG AGRI, H.1, Consistency of rural development, Policy analysis and Coordination– Role and perspectives of SMEs in EU rural development policies and investment opportunities</p><p>Coffee break</p><p>EESC-2016-00102-00-02-CONVPOJ-TRA (EN) 1/22 SECOND PANEL</p><p>Presentation of each member's expectations for the category (3 minutes)</p><p>Synthesis of the proposals for a draft annual work programme for the category</p><p>Recommendations for new EESC work on SMEs and crafts</p><p>Date of the next meeting</p><p>Conclusions of the meeting</p><p>Interpreting: EL-EN-FR into EL-EN-FR</p><p>______</p><p>N.B.: Members are asked to sign the attendance list in order to ensure that their travel and subsistence expenses are refunded.</p><p>Members who are unable to attend this meeting are kindly asked to notify the secretariat in advance so that interpreters do not attend unnecessarily.</p><p>EESC-2016-00102-00-02-CONVPOJ-TRA (EN) 2/22</p>