Brussels, 30/11/2011 (Agence Europe) - With an envelope of €2.5 billion, the COSME instrument will take over from the CIP for the period 2014-2020 to promote access to funding for SMEs.
On Wednesday 30 November, the European Commission proposed a new instrument to boost the competitiveness of SMEs over the period 2014-2020. With a budget of €2.5 billion, the programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs (COSME) will provide continuity for the instrument in place between 2007 and 2013, the Competitiveness and Innovation Programme (CIP), in promoting access to funding for SMEs and encouraging the spirit of entrepreneurship.
As regards access to funding, the number one priority of the COSME programme (for which €1.5 billion is earmarked), will be to support SMEs through a venture capital facility for growth-phase investment (making funding available in the form of reimbursable own funds for commercial purposes, mainly in the form of venture capital, through financial intermediaries) and direct loans or other mechanisms to share the risks with financial intermediaries to cover the loans.
COSME will also provide support to SMEs to access the markets within the EU and throughout the world. To help them expand within the single market, SMEs will be able to call on the services of the network Enterprise Europe. For markets outside the EU, the programme will support international industrial cooperation, in order to reduce regulatory differences between the EU and its partners.
Lastly, the new programme will boost business creation by promoting the development of entrepreneurial skills and attitudes, particularly among young people and female entrepreneurs.
The programme will assist 39,000 businesses a year, helping them to create or safeguard 29,500 jobs and launch 900 new products, services or procedures every year.
Access to credit will be made easier for entrepreneurs wanting to do business across borders. A sum estimated at nearly €3.5 billion, in the form of additional loans and investments, will be made available to support European businesses. (EH/transl.fl)