The European Court of Auditors found that the European Commission’s SME Instrument scheme provides “useful and effective support” for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups, in a report published on Wednesday 22 January.
This scheme, with a fund of €3 billion for the 2014-2020 period, aims to provide financial support for the development of innovative projects. It is aimed at SMEs and start-ups in the EU and 16 associated countries.
“Supporting breakthrough innovation by SMEs is vital for EU competitiveness and jobs”, said Alex Brenninkmeijer, who is responsible for the report.
More than 5,000 projects have received financial support since the scheme was launched in 2014. It also gives beneficiaries greater visibility and helps them attract additional investment.
Another positive element highlighted by the auditors is that the SME Instrument offers “access to the EU network for business acceleration support and services”. But these services are not sufficiently adapted to the needs of the beneficiaries, they deplore.
The report also makes a number of criticisms of the Commission. Partly due to a lack of communication from the institution, the participation of SMEs varies considerably from one country to another. Furthermore, the Commission has, according to the auditors, taken very little action to establish links with the financial instruments supported by the EU and “has only a limited insight into the real financial needs of SMEs”. Finally, the evaluation procedures it applies to select projects still lack effectiveness.
In particular, the auditors expect the system to extend its geographical coverage, optimize business acceleration services, and develop synergies with other financial instruments.
These proposals were made with an eye toward the creation in 2021 of a European Innovation Council (see EUROPE 12284/14) under the future Horizon 2020 research and innovation framework programme.
Consult the report: http://bit.ly/2TTSdYj (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki, intern)