Brussels, 05/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday in Strasbourg, the European Parliament will examine the report by Peter Skinner (British Labour), who welcomes the last conclusions of the European Commission on the implementation of the risk capital action plan (RCAP) (See EUROPE of 31 October 2001, p.16).
The report notes that the financial support for innovative SMES is of great importance in order to close the gap between Europe and the United States in terms of knowledge, and insists on the role to be played in this field by the European Investment Bank (EIB) which, in 2001, devoted EUR 800 million to risk capital operations in EU countries. In his report, Mr Skinner welcomes the EIB reform (allowing for most Community risk capital investments to be concentrated within the European Investment Fund), but draws attention to the fact that the funds must not be intended exclusively for high technology SMEs (and hence to the detriment of SMEs in industrial and services sectors).
Furthermore, the rapporteur considers that insufficient progress has been made with a view to eliminating tax, regulatory and administrative obstacles and that, in parallel, the lack of adequate financing may still be a major obstacle for starting up a company. In this context, the Member States are invited to grant favourable tax treatment to added value achieved on investment not quoted on the stock markets in companies with strong growth potential. The report also calls on EU countries to ensure that the legislation does not prevent persons who have undergone bankruptcy to later play an active role in starting up businesses.