On Friday 16 December, EU member states aligned their negotiating positions to European Commission proposals to revise EU legislations on the action of European venture capital funds (EuVECA) (Regulation 345/2013) and social entrepreneurship funds (EuSEF) (346/2013).
As foreseen by the European Commission, the regulation makes it clear that member states shall not levy fees or other costs for registering a fund (see EUROPE 11590). Invest Europe says that in some member states, there is a charge of several thousand euro to pay before the European passport can be used.
Venture capital fund managers with portfolios of over €500 million covered by the EU Directive on alternative investment funds will now be able to access the EuVECA and EuSEF markets but will still have to comply with the directive and some measures from the two regulations.
The definition of an SME (all funds are required to invest a share of their clients’ capital in SMEs if they want to obtain the European passport) has been relaxed, as suggested by the Commission. The maximum turnover figure has been removed and the proposal allows flexibility in terms of the maximum staff numbers for an eligible SME (from under 250, the figure is now 499, as foreseen by the Commission). SMEs quoted on the ‘growth market’ exchange are included.
In a press release, Slovak finance minister Peter Kazimir said new options need to be developed for financing European start-ups, innovative SMEs and social enterprises. He said access to venture capital and social entrepreneurship capital is crucial in this section of the economy.
The European Parliament is not yet ready to negotiate, but might adopt its negotiating position in March 2017. The inter-institutional talks would then begin after a vote at Parliament's plenary in May. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)