After some years in Germany, the organisation moved its headquarters to Brussels, Belgium, where it was established in 1991 as an international not for profit association under Belgian law (AISBL).
UEAPME challenged the validity of the directive implementing the agreement before the European Court of First Instance, claiming a violation of its own right to negotiate.
The complaint was dismissed in June 1998,[2] but the court case created political momentum for the opening of discussions with UNICE, according to the principle of mutual recognition.
In November of the same year, the two organisations reached an agreement, further to which UEAPME became a recognised participant in the European social dialogue.
SMEunited is run by a Secretariat based in Brussels consisting of 20 staff members working in thematic directorates.