All of the European Union’s smaller Member States expressed concern about the geographical distribution of the future European Competitiveness Fund (ECF) during an exchange between the EU’s industry ministers on Monday 29 September. “We cannot divide Europe into those who have and those who have not. We cannot allow two-, three- or four-speed development”, summarised the Latvian Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Economics, Jurģis Miezainis, on his arrival at the Council.
Whether it be Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Croatia or - larger countries - Poland or Romania, these countries fear that funding from the future ECF will go straight to multinationals established in large Member States with a developed industrial base.
“We don’t have any large multinationals”, stressed Silvio Schembri from Malta. He continued: “We therefore need a fund to pre-finance this type of product, which would be a great help in terms of liquidity, because the capital to be invested is generally very high”.
For all these countries, it is not just a question of covering their territory, but also of not forgetting the SMEs. They have fewer resources to deal with the various financing projects.
The delegations unanimously stressed that access to ECF funding should be as simple as possible. “SMEs must not be drowned in red tape”, stressed Croatian State Secretary, Goran Romek.
This is precisely the point on which the Commission can work, according to Stéphane Séjourné, Commissioner for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy. Simplicity of operation and access to the ECF, as well as support for businesses in each Member State, will ensure fair distribution throughout Europe, explained the Commissioner to Agence Europe. “Another method would have been to establish criteria, but that means bureaucracy”, he added.
A focus on excellence. During this first discussion on the ECF, most Member States also stressed the need, in their view, to support “excellence” in industrial projects. In their view, this will be a way for the EU to play a key role on the world stage for the technologies of the future. (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)