Brussels, 18/10/2000 (Agence Europe) - In response to the wishes expressed by the European Council of Lisbon which had requested, in March, a report on the examination of financial instruments by the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Investment Fund (EIF), or managed by the Commission, in the context of the development of the new economy, the European Commission adopted, on Wednesday, a communication by Commissioner Pedro Solbes on Community instruments for financing small and medium-sized companies. The Commission recommends measures for:
- Refocusing of financial instruments available on political priorities identified at the European Council of Lisbon. In order to strengthen the support to innovative companies in the knowledge and information society, the Commission proposes: 1) a guarantee mechanism for micro-credits, 2) equity guarantees for investments in companies in the start up phase; 3) guarantees to underpin the financing of Internet and electronic commerce applications by small companies; and 4) investment in business "incubators" and related advisory services.
- Improving the coherence and the coordination between the various Community financial instruments. The Commission suggests the internal constitution of a high level steering committee for constant review of the consistency of new actions proposed as well as a joint Commission-EIB-EIF working group for conceiving joint actions. An annual report presented to the European Parliament and to the Council would allow the needs for new actions to be detected.
- Increasing visibility and accessibility of Community actions. The Commission subscribes to the repeated request made by the European Parliament for the creation of a single point of access for information (one-stop information shop on the Internet for SMEs and financial institutions) covering all the Community's financial instruments, including the EIB. This site should be linked to the main websites of the Member States.
