In an opinion put forward by Anneleen Van Bossuyt (ECR, Belgium) and adopted on Tuesday 23 January by 28 votes to 8 and 0 abstentions, the European Parliament’s committee on the internal market and consumer protection (IMCO) has called for considerable strengthening of the role of SMEs in the European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP).
In her explanatory statement, the rapporteur explained she wanted to introduce incentive criteria to substantially increase SME participation in cooperation projects. Thus, MEPs suggested in an amendment that EU aid should amount to 50% of the total eligible costs within the framework of prototyping (compared to 20% in the Commission’s proposal) and up to 100% in the following development phases when this involves SME activity.
The text finalised also highlights cross-border cooperation between SMEs. In its annual implementation reports, the Commission is invited to focus on SME participation.
In addition, MEPs wish to strengthen the transnational dimension of the programmes, claiming that any cooperation should include at least three companies established in at least three member states, as opposed to two member states in the Commission’s proposal. They also make cooperation more flexible for third country companies.
The proposal put forward by the rapporteur to substantially reduce the funding from €500 million to €125 million was not accepted. The text, however, indicates that funding must come from the non-allocated margins under the ceilings of the multiannual financial framework 2014-2020. The other proposal by the rapporteur to counter-balance additional spending at European level by reducing spending at national level was not accepted either.
Furthermore, the Council said it hoped to strengthen SME cooperation in the EDIDP programme in its position finalised last December (see EUROPE 11924). (Original in French by Pascal Hansens)