On Friday 29 October, DG GROW and DG CNECT organised a first meeting with some European SMEs’ associations in order to better understand the challenges to promoting SME Access to and Use of Digital Tools. SMEs’ associations shared their views on the main barriers SMEs face and which challenges should be prioritised in the discussion with the U.S. They also shared their priority topics for practical webinars that should help SMEs address potential skills gaps in the context of digitalisation and the digital transformation. Co-chairs of the Working Group 9, Valentina Superti and Lucilla Sioli welcomed the quality of the exchanges, which will serve as a basis to discuss common transatlantic challenges with their U.S. counterparts. Working Group 9 will pursue and deepen this dialogue with SMEs and their representatives through listening sessions in the coming months.