The SAFE Panel

An independent research panel supported by the European Commission, tracking financing conditions, business activity and inflation expectations for enterprises across Europe.

The story behind SAFE

Since 2009, SAFE has tracked how firms across the euro area experience access to finance. What started as a six-monthly survey has grown into a quarterly panel that gives policymakers a direct, independent view into the real economy.

Survey Launched

SAFE begins as a six-monthly survey, giving early insight into SME financing conditions across the euro area.

Moved to Quarterly

The survey moves from six-monthly to quarterly rounds, giving policymakers more frequent insight into financing conditions.

Our Approach

Independent, confidential and rigorous

Confidentiality

Your individual answers stay confidential and are only ever used in combination with other responses, in aggregate form.

Broad Coverage

Results cover euro area countries every quarter, plus all EU countries and some neighbouring countries once a year with the European Commission.

Rigorous Methodology

Findings are broken down by firm size, sector, country, firm age, financial autonomy and ownership for a detailed, reliable picture.

— Manufacturing firm, Germany

“Taking part in SAFE takes very little time, and knowing our answers are confidential made it easy to be honest about the challenges we're facing.”

— Retail SME, France

“It's reassuring to know our responses feed directly into ECB and European Commission policy discussions on financing conditions.”

— Services firm, Italy

“The interview was straightforward, and it felt good to have a voice in shaping how policymakers understand our access to finance.”

— Construction firm, Spain

“We appreciated that the survey covered real issues — interest rates, turnover, and what we expect for the months ahead.”

Independent research since 2009

SAFE has run for over 15 years, evolving from a six-monthly survey into a quarterly panel that gives the ECB and European Commission a direct, independent view into how firms across Europe experience access to finance.