This document provides a summary of the proceedings of a conference on business start-ups and creation in the 12 member states of the European Community (EC). Section I discusses the current relevance of the issue. Major topics are the explosion of interest in business creation as a means of creating more stable employment and political concern with small and medium-sized enterprises in the last decade. Section II focuses on recent research objectives, in particular the part played by training for business starters. Section III sets forth two conference objectives: dissemination of information on various approaches to new business support adopted by the 12 EC countries and comparison with counterparts from Eastern European countries. Section IV summarizes papers produced by each rapporteur during these round tables: "Who Are the Starters?"; "The Starters, What Makes Them Successful?"; "To Train or Not to Train?"; "The Current Position of Business Starters in the Countries of Eastern Europe"; and "Risks, Trends, and Needs." A conclusion discusses key points raised during the conference. They are categorized as follows: (1) accurate and reliable statistics; (2) ensuring that information reaches its target audience, coordination of the efforts deployed; (3) systematic evaluation of the effects of support schemes; (4) defining the right training provision; and (5) continuing the research. A list of the reports upon which the summary is based is appended. (YLB)