Comment by fweimer

I wouldn't say that. In the German media, family-owned businesses tend to be treated as Mittelstand regardless of size, and their owners' statements are sometimes portrayed as reflecting general “Mittelstand“ concerns even if the company in question is quite large.

But you are right that Germany's SME subsidiaries generally follow the EU definition: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A...

I don't know if there are loopholes and if SME subsidiaries end up benefiting large, established players in the end.